The Infection
by Retrobution
Summary: No one exactly knew how the infection started. No one knew that it would only effect the demigods. But what the heroes from the Titan War do know is how to survive. And in their deadly new world once called Earth, survival is the best thing you can do. Until you figure out that it was entertainment all along...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Call of Duty quote I used at the end**

Prologue

"In the void, there was a vial. One drop was deadly. Instead of killing you, it destroys you. Slowly. Painfully. But not everything. It destroys your bones, and replaces them with flesh. Flesh that if you rip it open, it will not heal. Quite the opposite actually. It will stay destroyed. But every piece of blood has been infused with that vial if you drink it. And so, even if there was just a medium piece of flesh left, it could still manage to move, and has only one piece of will to survive: demigods...

If you want to destroy the demigod that drank the vial completely, the best thing to do is to burn it. That seemed to be the smart thing to do, that people will think of after a few minutes. But that's the thing. They can't burn. They'll indulge the flickering flames. They'll heal by themselves. All their wounds you caused will close up. And it'll quadruple their strength. Make them stronger.

They call themselves the infected. The name fitted them perfectly. How you infect the others is not the same by how it started. You bite them to infect the demigods that are not infected. And when they get bitten, kill them unless you want to be dead. You'll be lucky if the zombie just eats everything. It's hard to kill your friends if they're zombies. Bite them anywhere, anytime. When I say anytime, I mean anytime. They come out in the daylight. In the night. So when I say anytime. I mean 24 hour hunting for demigods.

After the demigod gets infected, it's best to kill them immediately. You don't get the luxury of waiting for an hour to say "goodbye" and start crying. If you want to survive. Don't say anything. Be emotionless. And if you want to know why, read the next sentence. They'll turn almost immediately. You get 1 minute. Only 1 minute before the infusion starts. There are no sign of symptoms since they turn in 1 minute.

I bet some of you are scrolling down and ignoring all this advice from above. Athena would be ashamed. Let me tell you how they can turn in 1 minute. The first things you get to experience are your screams of pain in your ears as you get bitten. It's painful. After the infected has savored some of your flesh, they wait. Some impatient ones can eat you up just like that. Now if you haven't been killed by one of the demigods yet, you're unlucky. It's better to die than to be an infected. It's more painful to turn into one.

The next step is your eyes. They'll be bloodshot, a bit like red eyes, but much worse. The pupil in your eye will disappear, and your entire eye will be filled with red. No black or white left. Just red.

Your skin itself will not become red. It will not become green either. And it will not rot. It will become pale. Deathly pale. Almost like a solid ghost. Except much, much worse.

The outer body will stay the same. Except for the deathly pale skin, nothing has really changed that much. It's the inner part of your body that will affect you the most. There are no bones. No heart. No lungs. None of those things inside your body in need of survival. The only thing there was blood and flesh. Those are the only things you need, to survive being an infected.

The parts that people are always destroying are the head and the brain. Yes, that can be true. But in this case, that's not possible. Let's take a look at the head first. Removing the head usually kills a zombie in most zombie movies. In this case not. Every type of flesh- even the tiny bits that are on the floor due to a person chapping the arm off- has the will to survive. It's in their blood. Their flesh. Those tiny pieces can move. Even without the head, they are perfectly capable of moving. Looking like worms doing so. It could be based on worms. And how can they infect others with only a piece of flesh you may probably ask? They get to you if you're sleeping. Crawl inside your mouth- destroying the tiny piece of an infected flesh- but making a new, fresh infected.

Now let's go on to the brain. The part that usually kills every piece of infected or zombie in the movies or books. Unfortunately in this case, too bad if you're prepared for this moment of infection. Those movies and books won't help you at all. Destroying the brain will be useless. It's a miracle if you even do manage to get to the brain. It will, however, lower down their intelligence level by a lot. I'll say about 50 percent.

Now coming to the infected behavior, that's a hard one, but I'll describe it to you in the best possible way. They're vicious. And I don't mean vicious as- let's just say- Lucas the vicious dog. Ok, I just made that name up, but seriously, they are much more vicious and have no mercy while eating flesh. They bite. Eat. And search for many other demigods.

Saying their intelligence level is hard. I would say it has a lot of common sense. It can light a fire, know when someone is near. It has as much intelligence as a human, so calling it 'stupid' would be, well stupid. Do not underestimate them. Never underestimate your opponents. That's one lesson you'll learn when this fiasco happens.

I am not doing this for drama, but here I go at saying this: The vial cannot be destroyed. If Chaos the creator of the universe- and sadly the vial as well- destroys it, the glass that contains the vial, will shatter into a million pieces. And the vial itself? The drops of the liquid or substance will fall into Earth. And with the demigod's luck, right into someone's smuggled drink. And with they're luck. It did.

Now I bet you're all wondering how you kill them. That's what you're all waiting for right? Well I have no answer for that one. I am sorry, but there is no answer, no cure, no ambrosia or nectar can cure the infected. You simply cannot destroy the infected. Hate to break it out to you but there it is. Just to make my message clear, I'll repeat it one more time. They are unstoppable, they cannot be defeated. It is a lost cause. I gave you all the information I have. You're on your own soldier..."

**A/N: Should this be T or M rated? And also, who do you think should start the infection? No main characters at the moment, and no OC's.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 1

"You're on your own soldier..." Percy mimicked bitterly as he heard those last words.

"Calm down Percy!" Annabeth scolded him but was breaking on the inside as well.

So far, they had encountered none of the infected. Yet. They had to run from Camp Half Blood when it was burned down to the ground. The infected came from Camp Half Blood which was how it started:

It all started with a normal day at Camp Half Blood. But that was how it always starts. A normal day. After the war, the senior campers had adjusted to normal days. They adjusted too fast. No one could predict what would happen next.

A camper had smuggled in some coke for itself at camp, and drank it hungrily. Of course, the effect had begun immediately after a minute. Change during that minute however, could be seen if you looked hard enough. The camper was immediately hungry for blood, demigods was the only thing on it's mind. It wasn't a he, or a she, it was an it. One of the Infected. And who was the infected you'll probably ask. Who was the person who started the infection? A Hermes camper. To go into specifics, Connor Stoll.

That was the worst day of Travis Stoll's entire life. His own brother had come up to him that day, and ravenously started hungrily eating out huge gory chunks out of his arm. Once his hunger was satisfied, he started to run through dozens of campers who had weapons pointed at him fearfully. He screamed loudly, and within at least 1 mile radius, the agonizing scream could be heard. The campers tried to heal him, but faced the consequences when he started turning into one of the Infected. But they didn't know that. And in just a few minutes, 5 campers were already infected and ready to eat.

Campers tried to fight them, but it was no use. They were the unstoppable. They should have named them, the Unstoppable Infected. Either way, both fit. Screams of pain rang throughout the camp, and everyone crowded around a scene. A scene of where their siblings, friends, family, were now eating chunks of now a dead demigod. Clarisse was yelling at them, but not even with her daughter of Ares strength could she fight them off. And soon they were forced to run. There was no time for fighting, no point. Some campers made the bad decision, and were on their knees, surrendering, while the Infection ripped out pieces of their neck, and savored the taste like wild animals.

The demigods that ran couldn't stay strong and free flowing tears ran down as they left behind their former family that now turned into an Infected. The group consisted of the people who participated in the Titan War. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, Clarisse, Will, Jake, Pollux, Katie, Chris, Rachel, and Malcolm were the ones who had ran. Even Clarisse didn't want to take her chances against those 'punks.' Nobody did.

Along the days, they had lost one of them, Malcolm had been a bit too slow, and were taking as a victim who was eaten on sight. Annabeth had cried over the loss of her brother, and not even Percy could calm her down. She saw the death of her brother in immense detail. In fact, the Infected who had had eaten her brother was one of the people that she knew as the Ice Queen. Drew. And that made her despise her even more.

Survival was hard, and food was scarce. And even though humans still lived amongst the bad scenario, one by one, they started eating them too. The Infected might as well have put up a huge banner saying 'Human Disposal by Infection at your Service' for the mortals. And the same thing for the demigods as well. Except saying 'Demigod Disposal by Infection at your Service' instead. But as original as that would have been, they didn't, and that showed that humans around the other side of the world had no idea that the Infected had only just begun their destruction of the Earth.

Those days led up to one more Infected joining this 'wonderful' new world. The victim being Jake, who had tried to sacrifice himself by sticking a large spear through it's neck. The spear stayed impaled on his head. The Infected growled and snarled, while taking out the spear and throwing it with aim on Jake's neck. He fell to the ground, and now he had no will to survive except for demigod flesh.

No deaths were seen in the group, and that was a huge achievement compared to two new Infected in just than more then a few days. And that's where the timeline comes now, back to when Annabeth spoke.

"How can we calm down?" Percy snapped.

Annabeth didn't flinch, but retorted back angrily. "Yes you can calm down! I'm supposed to be the one punching any object I see in front of me! Do you know what it's like to lose a brother?"

"You know what I'm worried about Annabeth? I'm worried about Thalia and Nico! You may have lost a brother, but Thalia and Nico is the closest thing to my family I have. And you know what I just found out? I found out that my mom and Paul are dead!"

"How?"

"I just saw them walking around the town."

"We have to move again?" Chris asked with a tired sigh.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Percy led the group to a presumably safe area while gripping the voice recorder tightly. Annabeth intertwined her hand with his and carefully took the voice recorder into her own hands, since he was going to break it.

"Set up a light camp here," Annabeth ordered, as she saw that everyone was going to collapse if they walked any further. "But we'll have to move tomorrow if we're lucky. If we're not, then we'll move in just a few hours."

The group nodded and rolled out their sleeping bags. They didn't bother lighting a fire, it would only alert the Infected that they were here. Percy was the lookout, along with Annabeth as the rest slept.

"Percy?" Annabeth said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about your parents."

Percy was about to reply when he saw one of the Infected crawling their way with one leg lost.

"Wake the others and tell them to move ok?" Percy said to Annabeth who nodded.

"Wake up and pack up quietly," Annabeth whispered to the group as she shook them awake one by one.

Meanwhile Percy walked a tiny bit closer to where the Infected was limping to. He wanted to know who the Infected was. He squinted to see in the dark, but stumbled over a branch in the process. He placed his hand over his mouth to prevent any noises. But it was too late. The Infected had seen him. And he had seen the Infected. It was Paul Blofis. His stepdad. He backed away slowly and ran out towards to his friends stealthily, his former stepdad following close behind him.

"Run!" Percy yelled. "Go!"

The group looked behind Percy and without any question, ran. Although Clarisse wanted to try her new torture method on the Infected to see if it would die, Chris dragged her back to the group. Annabeth was the last to run. She waited for Percy to come back, but he didn't. Ironically, the Infected was also gone. Which meant... He had either led the Infected away, or... He had become an Infected.

Annabeth stubbornly refused to believe the second option, and ran out across the dark to look for Percy. The group noticed that their two leaders were gone, and started to head out in her direction. Little did they know it was a trap. And they had gone along with the trap without any second thoughts.  
**  
A/N: I hope this chapter is good for you guys. And to all the questions I had received from the first reviewer, all will be revealed in the upcoming chapters.  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 2

"Percy!" Grover bleated.

When Grover got no reply, he tried using the empathy link, but soon found that Percy had cut it off. He tried it again, but got not answer. He bleated nervously, which startled the group from the tense silence.

"Grover use the empathy link," Will suddenly asked.

"I tried it-"

"And?"

"He cut it off. I can't reach him."

The demigods's faces got even paler if possible.

"That means..." Katie struggled with the next words, and eventually gave up altogether.

"Brother not dead!" Tyson reassured everyone. "He strong. He will survive."

"I hope so," Clarisse muttered under her breath.

"He will!"

The group made each move with caution, careful not to snap any branches to make any noise after their talk. They couldn't afford to be caught. But apparently Annabeth could.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled.

The group ran towards the noise and found Annabeth desperately trying to find Percy. She turned around and faced them. No greetings were exchanged, but she looked relieved to see them.

"Have you seen Percy?" Annabeth asked them.

The group shook their heads, and Annabeth frowned.

"Come on," Annabeth said determinately. "Let's go find him."

It felt so normal to say that. It felt as if they were playing hide and seek, or even just a Capture the Flag game. Not this. Nobody had anticipated this. Not even the Fates could foresee the future. A scream could be heard faintly. And then quick running.

A snap of a branch alerted them more than the scream. These days, screams were normal. They turned around quickly, prepared to run. Instead of an Infected however, they saw Percy. He looked ready to collapse, and his leg was badly injured. Annabeth wanted to rush forward and help him rest, but she didn't. She gestured for the group to wait. One minute. That was all they needed to see if he was one of them or not.

"Guys, go!" Percy directed. "Run!"

"No," Annabeth whispered. "You can't be one of them..."

Annabeth held up ten fingers, stubbornly signaling that there were only ten seconds left. Everyone waited with only the sound of everyone's breathing in the nervous silence. The best option was to run. But what if he wasn't one of them?

9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Annabeth didn't run forward, making sure that he wasn't one of them. When more than 1 minute was over, she ran forward and hugged him without much strength.

"Annabeth," Percy looked at her with pained eyes. "Please go."

"What happened?" Clarisse demanded.

"The Infected happened. I was trying to see who it was. When I realized that it was Paul, I ran, but it was faster than me-"

"How did you escape?"

"I didn't. That was what I was trying to tell you. He's still behind me. It's a trap."

"What trap?" Katie wanted to know.

"I don't know! I didn't stop to ask them!"

"You should have!"

"I'm not leaving you behind."

Annabeth was the one who said that. She ignored Percy's protesting, and supported him while they tried to run without making noise. The group had to slow down because of him.

"You're slowing down because of me. Just leave me here, you guys can escape. I can hear it coming-" Percy tried reasoning.

"No. We're not leaving you," Annabeth said firmly.

Once Percy knew that he wouldn't win, he sighed. He let Annabeth support him as he limped as fast as he could. No Infected had bitten him, but the recording never said that they were good with weapons. Instead of coming with its mouth, a huge sword had chopped off nearly quarter of his leg. He could remember that time clearly, when he saw his foot along with his sneaker right next to him. Blood had been dribbling down his leg. And it still was.

"Annabeth," Percy almost fell down from the pain. "My leg."

Annabeth took a quick glance at Percy's left leg. Will looked behind, and saw her trying to bandage up Percy's leg. He ran towards them, and took off his jacket. He wrapped up the injured leg in the jacket.

"Find a stick," Will instructed.

Tyson found a stick first. He handed it to Will, and he inspected it closely. After he finished looking at the length and every angle, he handed it to Percy.

"You need it for walking," Will explained. "Annabeth needs to rest a bit."

Percy looked at Annabeth guiltily.

"I'm fine," Annabeth told him.

When Annabeth saw that Percy was still looking guilty, she sighed. When she was about to speak, an Infected came bounding towards them. It snarled and showed its teeth, which held freshly ripped meat.

"Oh gods," Katie looked disgusted, and slightly scared.

"What's the plan?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"There isn't one," Annabeth told him, while inspecting it. "We just run."

And so the chase began. The group ran, but didn't notice that Clarisse was gone. She wanted to try something out. It was Chris who noticed that she was missing first.

"Guys," Chris slowed down. "Where's Clarisse?

Percy looked behind him as he limped hastily. He came to a halt.

"And where's the Infected?" Percy asked.

The entire group stopped.

"Smelly monster behind us," Tyson called out.

"No," Chris breathed. "We have to go back."

No one said that Chris couldn't go. But no one said that he could go either. And before anyone could stop him, he ran back. Straight to where Clarisse was. And straight back to the Infected.

The group followed Chris reluctantly. Stupid move or not. They had to. They couldn't afford to lose anyone. Two members were already gone. However, one member stayed behind. Percy couldn't run or walk anymore. He needed support but he had none; everyone had already left. He was alone. Again. He tried to walk, but he fell right back on his face.

"What happened to 'we're not leaving you' huh?" Percy grumbled to himself with an annoyed expression on his face.

When Percy got back up again, he heard a person coming. He thought that it was Annabeth coming to help him up. He thought wrong. With a strangled choke at the back of his neck, he desperately tried to get back up with his walking stick. When he couldn't, he crawled as quickly as he could behind a tree and held his breath. The Infected couldn't see him. But eventually it would. The only thing he could do was stay silent, with silent tears coming down his cheeks. Even heroes cry when they're about to die...  
**  
A/N: Some of you might think I'm picking on Percy but I'm not. You'll see what I'm trying to do at the upcoming chapters. Thanks for all the support!  
**


	4. Chapter 3

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians******

Chapter 3

I'm going to die, Percy thought as one of the Infected came closer and closer, almost tilting it's head until...

BAM!

A gunshot was heard, and one of the Infected scurried over to the noise, not realizing it was a decoy. Percy stared at it, and used this as a chance to escape. He scrambled up, and fell down again. He grunted, and used the walking stick for support. He had dry tear stains now. His mind was now filled with determination. He crawled very slowly, bit by bit behind another tree to rest.

"Percy?" A voice came out from behind him.

Percy turned around quickly and saw a gun pointed right at his temple. But above the gun, behind the gun, and next to the gun, were his two cousins. He smiled weakly, but the pressure of the gun resting at his temple was the end. He blacked out, happy that his cousins were alive.

**With the rest of the group:****  
**  
"I know Clarisse is in danger, but I need to do a quick head count," Annabeth said.

Annabeth proceeded to count as the rest of the group waited with fear. Instead of walking onwards when she stopped pointing fingers at everyone, she went to count again.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked.

"There are only eight people including me in the group," Annabeth replied with a frown. "There was twelve to start, we lost Jake and Malcolm, and we're looking for Clarisse. So who's gone?"

It was obvious, Annabeth knew, but maybe Percy was hidden.

"It's Percy," Annabeth said with disbelief, as if he had the worst luck. "He's gone. Again."

Two search parties had to be held, Annabeth knew: one looking for Clarisse, the other looking for Percy.

"We have to split up," Annabeth said firmly. "Chris, you wouldn't like it if we all searched for Percy, get a few people. We're going to split up. We have to."

Chris was about to say something but hesitated after he thought about it. Would they be safe?

"Are you sure?" Grover chewed nervously on a tin can he had bought.

Annabeth nodded. "Or else we'll get nothing done. Nothing achieved. We have to split up. It's the only way."

Finally, Chris nodded his head reluctantly.

"Take three people," Annabeth said. "I'll take the other three."

Chris chose Pollux, Katie, and Will. Annabeth took the rest. And making sure they had a first aid kit, they separated, and each group split up in the direction they thought their friends were.

Annabeth was worried. She couldn't believe that Percy was lost again. She tried to think of how he could lose him. Then she remembered: he had a bad leg, and they were being too quick. They left him behind...

Annabeth stopped in her tracks and signaled to the others to stop. None of them argued, and they silently waited to continue.

"We left him behind," Annabeth said in shock. "And an Infected was right behind him. He might be..."

Annabeth stopped talking, but kept on walking. After a while she quickened her pace and the rest of the group had to scurry after her.

"Brother not one of them," Tyson reassured everyone, but it was more like he was reassuring himself. "He not one of them."

Tyson looked so confident that Annabeth wanted to believe him but couldn't. And she didn't have the guts to tell him out loud that maybe Percy was one of them.

The group heard sniffling. They turned towards the noise, expecting to see Annabeth in tears, but instead saw Grover, sniffling.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked straightforwardly.

It took Rachel two more tries before Grover actually heard her.

"Juniper," Grover replied. "I don't know whether she's alive, one of them, or d-dead."

Tyson pulled Grover in a bone crushing hug, and the satyr sneezed loudly. He was still allergic to Cyclopes. After a while, the Cyclopes pulled away, and they resumed their walk, all wondering if they would have to split up again.  
**  
****With Chris and the others:****  
**  
"Chris!" A yell was heard, and said person recognized it immediately.

Clarisse. Chris sprinted over to the source of the noise, all the way hoping that she was alright. The rest of the group followed in fear. Not realizing at the moment that yelling would cause the Infected to come, Chris yelled back.

"Clarisse!" Chris yelled in reply. "Where are you?"

Clarisse didn't reply, and Chris feared the worst. But he still refused to believe it. He knew she could survive. She had to.

"Clarisse!" Chris yelled again, hoping for a loud reply.

When no shout was heard, Chris couldn't lead his group anywhere, the noise he had heard was gone. He ran in bushes, trees, and with lots of luck, avoided an Infected.

And there was the yell again. "Chris!"

Chris ran towards the noise, but when he came across a clearing from the trees, he found no one.

"Chris!" Another yell.

Chris became angry now, and the others followed him obediently.

"This isn't a game!" Chris yelled angrily. "Come one Clarisse, where are you?"

"Chris!" Only now he realized that it was a voice recording.

Voice recording or not, Chris still wanted to find Clarisse. But when he looked around to see his friends, he realized that they were endangering their lives just for him. Technically, they endangered their lives just by staying alive, but their determination kept them living.

"Guys," Chris stopped abruptly. "You guys go, I'll find her myself."

Arguments and lots of protesting were heard.

"We already split up once with Annabeth," Katie argued. "We're stronger together."

"Katie's right," Pollux agreed. "If we split up, we have a slim chance of surviving."

"How?" Chris wanted to know. "We have no way of defeating them, so if we stay together, then we'll just take more time to escape."

They stayed quiet, and before they knew it, in the speed of Hermes, Chris was gone in an instant.

"No," Katie breathed. "He can't have left us like that!"

"He did," Will said.

"He can't!"

"What," Will said carefully as if it was a joke. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"What the hell? No!"

"We've made enough noise. We need to escape before they come." Pollux said quietly.

Katie and Will both looked up at the same time. A foul smelling scent was coming from their left. Using their enhanced senses, they could tell that it was a good few meters away.

"Run quietly," Will whispered. "And stay together."

They all nodded, and together, they all ran forward silently.  
**  
****A/N: Sorry for the long wait or if any characters are OOC. If anyone has any ideas for upcoming chapters, or any suggestions, feel free to say it****. Thanks for all the support!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 4

"They're going to kill us," Katie whispered quietly. "I know. I can smell them a mile off. But I'm pretty sure that anyone can."

Will nodded, but concentrated on trying not to make any noise. They couldn't risk being caught or eaten. He put one finger to his lips just incase Katie was going to talk again. She pursed her lips close together to indicate that she wasn't going to.

"Two directions," Pollux suddenly said quietly.

"What?" Will asked in confusion.

"Two directions. I can smell them coming from two directions."

Pollux pointed to the path ahead of them. An intersected mud path stood before them. Two ways to go and none of them seemed good to take.

"We have to go back," Katie whispered. "If we take this path we're going to get turned into one of them."

"We can't go back," Will argued. "There's already an Infected behind us. If we take one of these paths, at least we have a fifty percent of survival!"

"And if we go back, we could sneak past the Infected and have a chance of survival. You're talking about taking a risk!"

Will stared at Katie in the eye. "I know what I'm talking about. Who's taking a risk? We can't sneak past an Infected!"

"Fifty percent. Fifty percent of sneaking past one of the Infected. Same percentage as yours."

Pollux didn't take part of the argument. But when his two companions looked at him expectantly, he stared at them blankly.

"Where do you want to go?" Will asked. "Back or forwards?"

"This sounds crazy, insane even," Pollux replied after a few seconds. "But we can't agree on anything. So that means we have to split up."

"You know how many times I've heard that word today? I'm sick of that word."

"Then what should we do?"

"Split up."

It was Katie who said that. She stared at Will as if daring him to say otherwise.

"I'll take the route on the left. Will, you take the route on the right, and Katie can go back. It makes everyone happy-" Pollux started.

"But only one of us is going to make out of it alive." Will finished for him.

**With Annabeth and the rest: ******

It could've been entertainment for the gods. A dream by Morpheus. A reality show. But it wasn't. Although it was reality. The group didn't even know if the gods were on Olympus or not.

"Where do you think Percy is?" Rachel asked Annabeth.

Annabeth didn't hear Rachel at first. She walked on, hoping to see any signs of a walking stick. But what she was really hoping was that Percy was on the same spot. Then she felt guilty. How could she forget him? How could she leave him like that?

"Annabeth?" Rachel asked.

Annabeth snapped out of her thoughts and her eyes stared into Rachel's. "Yes?"

"Where do you think Percy is?" Rachel repeated her question.

"He could be anywhere. Where did we see him last?"

"Leaning on a tree."

"What tree?"

Rachel pointed to a tree with blood on it. An abandoned walking stick lay there. Annabeth recognized the walking stick as Percy's. It didn't look like it was dropped. It was more like it was placed there as if it was a joke. Foot skid marks led on to tracks. She made a hand gesture, saying that they should follow her.

"What does that mean?" Grover asked, hoping the situation wasn't that bad.

Annabeth's eyes twinkled in a new light. "It means that maybe Percy is alive."  
**  
****With Chris:****  
**  
"Clarisse!" Chris yelled once he left his group.

Chits felt a bit of guilt, leaving them like that, but saying that Clarisse was more important wasn't a good reason. And what about the gods? What were they doing? Were they eating food, watching Hephaestus TV with suspense on their minds? Were they even helping?

"Chris!" Finally, a response was heard.

Chris identified the voice as the real Clarisse. A recording had a buzz to it. And she was his girlfriend. If he couldn't identify her real voice from a recording, what kind of boyfriend was he?

"Where the hell are you?" Chris yelled instead of saying 'Clarisse' again.

"Here!"

It sounded so corny and cheesy, Chris knew. Like a sort of love drama and the couple trying to play hide and seek. He wished it was. He was trying to figure out where 'here' was without shouting back. But he gave up once the voice echoed all around. He was in a cave.

"Where's here?" Chris finally asked after giving up.

"Can't you see?"

The voice was so near. Chris turned around, but no one was there. He looked down and forwards but he still couldn't find Clarisse. He could feel droplets of blood spilling on his hair. He was about to yell again, when he decided to look up, seeing where the blood was coming from.

There was Clarisse, taped on the ceiling with very strong tape. Ropes were bound on her arms and ankles so tight, that it cut through her skin. So that's where the blood droplets came from.

"Get me out of here," now Clarisse could whisper instead of yell. "It'll be back soon."

A loud noise was heard, and Chris assumed it was coming.

"At least pass me your weapon. It took mine," Clarisse said, reaching out her hand.

Chris hesitated, and grabbed his dagger. He threw it up at Clarisse, and she struggled to catch it. The Infected was coming closer now; the rustling and the smell gave it away.

"I can't reach it," Clarisse said.

"It's coming," Chris hissed.

Clarisse looked at Chris. "Pass me the dagger and put it in my hand. The Infected is at least a few meters away."

Chris reached up as high as he could, and after a few wasted seconds, Clarisse finally got it in her hands. She proceeded to cut the ropes hastily.

"Chris," Clarisse talked while trying to free herself. "I'm going to try and kill the Infected. And if it turns me into one of them, kill me. I'm not going to turn into one of them. There's a large cupboard over there for some reason. Go hide behind it."

Chris didn't have time to argue. The Infected was coming closer. He had to go now, before it caught sight of him. Giving Clarisse one last look, he sprinted towards the cupboard and hid behind it just as it came.

There was a hole to peek through. Chris placed his eye through it, and saw the scene. Clarisse hid the dagger as best as she could. She could barely even grasp it properly.

"You want to turn me punk?" Clarisse shouted. "Then do it! Are you a coward not even giving me a chase, and just tying me up?"

That made the Infected mad. It could think. It snarled and showed all it's teeth, which made Chris want to puke. But Clarisse was tougher. She continued her angry shouting that only children of Ares could dare shout at a monster like this.

"You're just a damn coward aren't you? Tying me up like this, I'll kill you!"

That was the last straw; the Infected snarled once more and lunged at Clarisse. Doing an angry war cry, she raised her dagger and threw it, aiming the dagger for its eyes.

Nothing happened. The Infected continued, and just when it was about to sink it's teeth into Clarisse's arm like a very extreme psycho vampire, Chris threw an object on the ground far away from her. The Infected paused, and even when smart, it didn't have max IQ. But what it did have was good senses. It growled and looked right behind the cupboard.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, I hope this chapter made up for it. Thanks for all the support!**


	6. Chapter 5

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 5

Behind the cupboard. Right where Chris was hiding. Clarisse's eyes widened in realization.

"Not there you punk!" Clarisse yelled at it.

But the Infected didn't listen, it crawled over slowly. Clarisse used that time to try and get free of the ropes. Luckily for her, the Infected was being very slow indeed. She glanced over to where it was, and noticed a detail she hadn't noticed before: a cut running across the leg, from feet to the waist. Did it injure it?

Clarrise didn't have time to think as she struggled and withered to try and free herself. She didn't have the dagger anymore. But what she did have was strength. Strength only children from Ares/Mars had. With one last struggle and burst of strength, the rope loosened and she fell to the ground with a thud.

The Infected was still inching closer and closer towards the cupboard. It was being that slow. And surprisingly, it ignored the loud thud on the floor. It used its senses to smell food. And food was behind the cupboard...

Clarisse hastily untied the heavy bound ropes that were tied around her ankles. She grabbed the dagger beside her that she had used to attempt and kill the Infected. She used that to cut the rope, and get herself free.

"Hey punk!" Clarisse finally shouted out when she was free.

Before the Infected could turn around, Clarisse got out her spear that was lying on the table. Maimer, her second spear she had gotten was now in her hands. And she was ready to kill.

**In a forest, with Percy and his two cousins:****  
**  
"Why did you put the gun at his temple?" Nico complained as he dragged Percy on the forest floor.

"I just wanted to make sure," Thalia replied with a gun in her hands.

"Where are we?" A hoarse voice spoke out.

Nico accidentally dropped the person that had talked on the floor. Percy was now wide awake, but looking pale and tired. Everyone was.

"I don't know Kelp Head," Thalia began talking with a small grin. "Usually I would lie and say everything's alright, but I'm not so sure..."

Thalia pointed to a dead corpse that had the face of one of the campers from camp. Instead of being turned, the camper had been eaten. He looked unrecognizable, chunks missing out of his arms, while dried blood was all around him. Not just out of his arms. His legs that once held a tan was now torn to bits with teeth marks. Parts of his leg, you could even see his white bones that looked like it was bitten, as if it was a sample from a grocery store that you could just eat.

Only the face was what made his identity known. Oh sure, there was a really bad piece of skin flapping openly that was supposed to be his cheeks. But apart from that, his face had been left alone.

It was the lower part of the stomach which was the most terrifying part. His shirt was ripped apart so violently that you couldn't even identify the color of it, just black thread hanging onto it. His stomach had a huge cut, opening it like a mad scientist dissecting humans for fun. The rest was just flesh, no kidneys, organs, or any important things like that. It seems that the Infected had feasted on those things too.

The name of the camper? Pollux, son of Dionysus.

"Why are you showing me this?" Percy asked once he wiped his mouth from retching.

Thalia's face hardened. "We wanted to show you this because we wanted you to realize that the Infected don't just turn demigods into one of them. They also do this. We wanted you to know that if an Infected sees you, you're either turned, or this."

"You could have just told me."

"This isn't just a normal camp activity Percy. This is reality, you needed to see this."

Percy didn't comment any further, only staring at the corpse and remembering his talk with Mr. D. He failed his promise. He failed the request. Again. Just like he had done with Nico's request to keep his sister safe.

"We need to get going," Nico finally spoke up, breaking the silence that hung eerily in the forest.

Percy nodded, while Thalia looked at him. "I'm sorry."

Thalia slung her arm around Percy's shoulder, while Nico did the same. And together, they supported and brung him to a safe place like a soldier in aid.

"We'll stick together," Percy said firmly.

"Until the end," Thalia and Nico spoke out the end in a whisper.

And they hoped they could. But in a world like this, hope could get them killed.

**In a forest near a clearing ****with Katie: ****  
**  
Katie knew it was a bad idea to split up. Even though she was the one who supported the idea, she knew it was a bad one. But she couldn't help it. Although risky, she had a good feeling about going back. She could get herself killed. Always a possibility. But they could get killed anywhere, so why not go back? What difference would it make?

A lot. Katie had no idea what awaited her when she went back. She had no idea who she would meet: friend, or foe. Demigod or one of the Infected basically. But in this place, an Infected was what was more likely to happen.

Katie walked forward, ignoring the cramp at her side. She didn't have to worry about any thorns or plants hurting her, she was a daughter of Demeter after all. Yet, the plants were not her biggest worry. She doubted her opinion for the first time. Was it really wise to split up? Wise... Annabeth and her group. She wondered if they had split up as well. Their odds were better anyway; they had one of the best sword fighters in camp, a Cyclopes, a satyr who found most of the Big Three's kids, and an Oracle. They had much better chances.

Katie heard a rustling in the bushes, and she took out her knife. She could swear the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. Or maybe it only dropped inside her body. Her whole brain froze, and she went in panic mode. It was a very random thought, but she wished she was a mole so that she could just dig in the ground and get out of the place. But she was a demigod.

Katie held the knife tightly to her beating heart. Her hair that was let loose flew all over the wind. She waited for the Infected to come. If it did, she might kill herself, commit suicide. But she had to make sure, just incase.

Impatience washed over her as a minute, or a year passed. With ADHD, it felt like years. Until another rustle came. She gripped the knife tightly in her hand. And then it came, inching closer. She turned around so quick she nearly got a heart attack. There, on the floor lay an Infected. And it was dead. She gasped quietly as she walked closer to it. How could it be dead? She waited a few seconds to see if it was a trap.

It wasn't a trap at all. It was dead. Katie flipped the Infected to its side and nearly retched all over the place as she took in the smell. But that wasn't what made her eyes widen.

There, right on it's back was a symbol. She didn't know what it was, or what it represented, but she knew it was the symbol to kill the Infected. She memorized the symbol in her head over and over again until she had it stuck in there along with her brain.

But while Katie was occupied with the dead Infected, another Infected came. It had no legs, only hands. And it moved closer and closer towards the demigod.

It was the vibrations on the Earth that alerted Katie. She spun around and saw an Infected. For a second, she was afraid. But then she remembered the symbol she had to carve on its back. She could never reach it without it biting her. And her heart raced once again. She considered suicide, but then saw it was stupid since she could get away without it chasing her.

Katie took one last look at the symbol and the Infected and ran. She didn't know where, but even with a crippled Infected, she wasn't safe.

**In the woods ****with Will:**

"Why did we have to split up?" Will asked himself out loud once he went into the path on the right. "Why?"

The only thing Will had was his bow that had infinite amount of arrows, and a first aid kit that would do nothing against a bitten wound. He walked on amongst the woods cautiously. You never knew when you encountered one. They would just spring at you, and catch you by surprise. That was the problem. Part of it at least.

Just for practice Will notched an arrow in his bow and aimed it for a random leaf. It hit the target, but he didn't even smile. What was worth smiling at a situation like this? It was hopeless. Everything was pointless. And just for five seconds he made the bow go into his direction. What was the point of living? No. He knew he had to go on. Five seconds, and the bow was already in another direction.

And then Will stopped. The sight in front of him made him stop. There, right in front of him was Pollux. And he was dead. More than dead. He was torn apart; the only thing identifiable was his face. He sunk to his knees as tears came down his face.

**A/N: Really, very sorry for the late update! I had no inspiration at all, writer's block I guess. I don't think it'll happen again. Thanks for all the support!******

**Guest: I have never read the book 'The Immortals' so I did not know that I have plagiarized something. I am really sorry if I did, which you say I have. So from now on, I'll say 'I do not own the plot line either.' But I do not think that I ever said that this is completely my idea, so I don't think I'm plagiarizing. But if I have, I'm sorry. Thank you for telling me that information.**


	7. Chapter 6

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the plotline which belongs to The Immortals******

Chapter 6

Will didn't know what was happening as he saw his more than dead friend laying on the ground. He didn't know what was happening as he took out his bow and shot at every single living thing that moved. He didn't know what happened as tears came out as he held his friend.

It wasn't that they actually acknowledged each other every day. The only thing Will had once the infection spread out was a friendship. A friendship between a son of Apollo, and a son of Dionysus. They could relate. Each had lost a half or actual brother. And maybe that was what made them brothers once the disease spread out.

Will didn't even care as he saw an Infected come forwards to him as if greeting him. He didn't even care when he stepped backwards and fell right into a well that had to be hidden. He didn't care...  
**  
****With Annabeth and her group, in the streets:****  
**  
"It's deserted in here," Rachel spoke as she looked around.

"It's hard to believe that this used to be New York," Annabeth laughed bitterly, while walking on, searching for Percy.

"We'll find big brother," Tyson tried reassuring everyone.

Two specs of green were seen, and Annabeth rushed to the spot quickly. She was hoping it was Percy. But hopes could almost never become true for the demigods can it?

The two specs of green were becoming bigger and bigger as Annabeth and her companions ran towards the color. No such luck. But it was a demigod. A demigod that wasn't infected, or dead, or even injured. It was a daughter of Demeter. Katie Gardner was staring at them with bright eyes.

"I know how to kill them," Katie spoke as she rushed forwards to greet them.

"Kill who?" Grover was confused.

Katie smiled at him and returned her gaze back to Annabeth, who stared right back with her grey eyes.

"I know how to kill an Infected."  
**  
****With Clarisse and Chris:**

"Get ready for your ass to be kicked!" Clarisse yelled as she charged at the Infected with Maimer.

Chris admired Clarisse for what she was going to do. However, no matter how much admiration he held, he knew it was pointless. He picked up his weapon and knew he had to try and help his girlfriend, no matter how pointless it was. At least he would die fighting, instead of being a coward.

"Draw Kronos's scythe on the back of it!" Clarisse shouted to Chris.

Chris was confused, but as confused as he was, he knew he should try and do what Clarisse said. But first, he had to get good grip on its shoulders to make it still. He wasn't exactly the best drawer in camp, but he wasn't the worst either. So he tried. He got a grip on its shoulders without vomiting all over the place and started carving the scythe. But he needed backup.

And that's how Clarisse came in. She threw her spear accurately at the Infected's head. It impaled itself right through its head, and blood spurted out as if it were a blood geyser. The Infected stopped for only two seconds. Its IQ dropped dramatically, and Chris drew the scythe on its back quickly.

The Infected paused longer now. The bloody skin that stunk like the Underworld shriveled away like a baby growing into a very old grandma in speed form. The skin became wrinkled and turned gray. Very gray. Like ash of a cigar or cigarette. The eyes rolled to the back of its impaled head, and the mouth turned chapped and broken. Not just the mouth, the grey skin itself turned chapped as if it was a layer of stone with a real person underneath it.

A flash of blinding yellow light shone on the Infected and the two demigods turned away. A cracking sound was heard and darkness once again consumed them, a little torchlight flickering light. Once they turned back, the Infected was gone.  
**  
****With Percy and his two cousins, still in a forest:******

"Where are we going?" Percy asked weakly, as he tried hobbling on his good leg.

"Somewhere safe." Thalia replied, looking around.

A bitter laugh that was identified as Nico's was heard. "Is anywhere safe?"

"No," Thalia said, and then pointed to Percy's leg. "But with his leg, we need to go somewhere safe. Like back to base."

Percy knew Nico was right, where was safe? But now, apparently they had a base. His interest peaked, but he didn't ask. Talking cost him energy, and if he lost his energy, he wouldn't be able to run if an Infected came. He doubted that Thalia or Nico could carry him.

Nico couldn't help but look at Percy's chopped off leg. He couldn't help but ask what had happened.

"Who knew Paul was good with a weapon?" Was Percy's only reply when Nico asked.

And Nico already figured out the rest of the story on his mind, and winced at how painful that must have been.

"How were you alone?" Thalia suddenly asked. "I'm sure that you were in a group."

"Most of the head counsellors," Percy replied, stopped to rest, and finally sat down. "Some got turned or died. We split up, and I was with a group, but I got left behind because of my leg."

"They left you behind? As in, they thought you slowed them down and they just left you?" Thalia yelled angrily.

"No. Annabeth supported me, and let me rest before a tree. Then they walked away to find Clarisse, and I guess they thought I was there all along. Then you two came and I don't know what happened to them. Or if they're even alive."

"Annabeth and the rest are strong, they'll survive don't worry."

"I was strong, look what happened to my leg."

Thalia suddenly grinned. "Your ego hasn't decreased has it? If your ego is there, you're ok. Now get up, we still have a short way to go."

"Help me up?"

Thalia shook her head, but helped Percy up as she supported his back while he walked on, back to their base. They walked for only a few seconds when the silence was interrupted.

"How come you managed to find each other and survive?" Percy suddenly asked.

"I was with the hunters when Lady Artemis disappeared. The hunters were going in panic mode, and even I couldn't calm them down. And one by one they disappeared. I didn't know where to go after that so I just decided to go back to camp. But that was kilometers away, and I didn't even know about the Infected. So I just walked through the forest and I saw Nico," Thalia stopped her talking and finished with looking at her cousins.

A moment of silence hung in the air eerily, as if Kronos had stopped time.

"I was in the Underworld when suddenly all the skeletons started going crazy. All the dead people were running around, and I was waiting for Hades to come, but he never did. So instead of helping them calm down, I left, and shadow traveled to a random forest, and that's where I saw Thalia," Nico said, tired from speaking so long.

"So how do you know about the Infected?"

"We found a recorder that told us everything."

Percy slowly reached into his jeans's pocket and pulled out a small recorder.

"Exactly like that," Thalia nodded while speaking.

"It doesn't explain everything though," Nico added to the conversation. "For one, if the vial turns the person's skeletons into flesh, how are the Infected any actual threats if they are some infectious blobs on the floor?"

Silence. No one could answer that question. But they could guess and assume. But assumptions were never the same as the truth,

"Because they can move into your mouth and turn you into one?" Percy guessed.

"Two, the recorder mentioned that the Infected's wounds never heal, but later, it mentioned that the Infected's can heal their wounds if they touch fire. Is it trying to explain that fire is the only thing that can heal an Infected's wounds?"

"Probably."

"Three, it mentioned that the Infected can't be destroyed other than death by hunger, but that's really no problem for the gods, for they can just transform the Infected into something else like plants or chicken or something. They might just go godly form on them and vaporize them for no mortal can survive seeing a god's true form."

"I have no idea. Who knows, maybe the gods are watching us right now, making and turning this into a gameshow for us."

"They would never do this to us."

Thalia looked Percy right into the eyes. "They're the gods. They can do anything they want. And if it means having entertainment because they're bored, it would make sense. Maybe that was our answer all along. Maybe the gods created the recorder. Maybe this is just a gameshow of the gods."

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, I had a bit of writer's block. And to my very first reviewer, these are the answers to your question right above. Thanks for all the support!******

**mitch2001liu: You'll see what I'm trying to do in future chapters and what Thalia said in the story might answer your questions...**


	8. Chapter 7

**  
****Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 7

Percy stared back at Thalia. He wanted to laugh. Say that it wasn't true. But as he looked up to the sky, he saw a huge flickering light. Sort of like an IM. But as soon as it had come, it had gone.

"Why would they do that though?" Percy questioned as he sat down. "I'm sure that some gods wouldn't allow it. Like Dionysus. Pollux is more than dead and he hasn't reacted. Drew is turned into one of them, and Aphrodite hasn't even done anything. Malcolm was eaten and Athena hasn't stopped them. Jake is an Infected and Hephaestus doesn't even bother!"

The sky rumbled with lightning in warning. It was currently raining. Percy's hair was matted down, and parts of it clung to his forehead. He didn't feel like being dry.

"And that's the only thing they do," Nico continued for his cousin. "Zeus makes lightning flash. So what? What have you ever done to us then have us live?"

Thalia made no move to stop them. "You only care about yourselves don't you? Artemis, you're probably up there too aren't you? Well if you're watching this gameshow as well, then screw you! You know how many hunters have disappeared? Turned? Eaten alive? Just because you left to go to Olympus? Forget it; I'm not your lieutenant anymore!"

And with those words spoke, Thalia took the tiara from her head, and threw it as far away from herself as possible. Having experience with throwing knives and her spear, she threw it pretty far. A silver glow surrounded her, and that was it. She was no longer a hunter.

"This is definitely entertainment," Percy confirmed, hanging his head low, little droplets of water becoming ice, shattering on the floor.

"Screw them all," Thalia muttered, still angry.

Nico nodded in agreement, his black eyes becoming a swirling vortex. "Screw them all," he agreed lowly.

**With Clarisse and Chris, still in the cave:******

"How did you know what symbol to draw?" Chris asked Clarisse when they walked out the cave.

"A guess," Clarisse shrugged. "I figured that it might be Kronos doing this.

Chris winced when Clarisse said Kronos. It was still a sore subject for him. "How do you know it's him who did this?"

"It's his scythe, it makes sense."

Chris nodded, too tired to think otherwise. "What if the people who want to turn this world like this, wanted us too think like that? What if the scythe was a coverup? What if the scythe was their greatest enemy?" He suddenly spoke up, taking deep breaths after each question.

Clarisse stared at Chris. "Don't get started thinking those Kronos thoughts of yours punk."

Clarisse walked out of the cave, but Chris stayed in the dark. She looked back.

"What if the gods did this?" Chris said, echoes bouncing all around him.

A ray of sunshine suddenly shone on Clarisse's face, illuminating her face. She gave Chris a dark look. He sighed and came forwards, joining her, and taking a punch on the stomach from the daughter of Ares.

The two walked in silence for a while, until Chris decided to speak up.

"Think about it ok?" Chris suddenly spoke. "Think about the gods actually doing this."

By now, they had stopped walking. Clarisse looked at Chris darkly. But when she was about to retort about something, her mind flashed back to when Ares beat her. And when she visited Olympus, when the gods got huffy when Percy asked for them to claim their children.

"It's possible," Clarisse finally muttered under her breath.

Chris stared at Clarisse. "If it's possible, then it's probably true."

"Not necessarily," Clarisse made a retort, before continuing her heavy footsteps that trudged through the forest.

"Always a possibility," Chris replied, before joining Clarisse, running to catch up.

**With Will, in the well: **

Will hit the stone ground with a crunch. He winced as the impact of falling on the ground made place. He was sure that he had broken a bone or two. But which one? Probably his ribs, he knew. He lay still for a while, not having the energy to get up or move.

Will stared at the sky above of him. He was lying in the only place that was safe. For now at least. Eventually, he knew Infected would come in and either turn him or eat him. Just like they did with Pollux.

Will suddenly gripped his bow in his hands. And without warning, memories of Pollux being eaten alive came in his mind. The memories that he tried to push at the back of his head. It all came back to him, and he glared at the Infected that was looking down the well at him. He notched an arrow and fired it accurately at its head. It snarled when it made impact between its eyes. It should have been dead if it was a real person. Unfortunately it wasn't.

Will scrambled up quickly, as the Infected started climbing down the ladder he hadn't noticed before. He was doomed. Or in other words, screwed. He notched another arrow and aimed for the brain. It stuck to its head like a unicorn horn, but the arrow went deeper than that. The arrow was seen sticking out of the other side of its head.

Will knew he couldn't kill it, he didn't know how, or if there even was a way to kill it. But he did know how to slow it down. He shot a few more arrows. One on both hands, another one on the neck, and one on both ankles. Basically, the Infected was impaled on the wall of the well, but still not dead.

Will used that time to get up slowly, and walk away with his back bent backwards, because of his ribs. He looked back, and saw that the Infected was trying to free itself. He notched another arrow, and a sharp twang was heard as he let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit the Infected right in the chest. Blood was leaking out quickly, and Will wondered if Infected could die of blood loss. He knew better than to find out and see if he was right or wrong. Taking one last glance at the helpless Infected, he walked away slowly, his back still in pain.

**With Annabeth and the rest:**

"How?" Annabeth asked Katie with interest.

"Draw a scythe on the back of an Infected," Katie replied, her eyes still bright. "It has too be the back though, anywhere else and it won't work."

Annabeth took a sharp intake of breath, and released it. Rain suddenly splattered the pavement as they walked. Her hair had taken an unintended shower, and it clung to her head like a magnet.

"Kronos's scythe?" Annabeth questioned, staring at Katie.

Katie only nodded as she saw Annabeth think. The rest of the group looked around, a slight bit of hope rising in their minds. Maybe they could survive after all.

"New world,

Godshow," Rachel suddenly said, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she collapsed on the floor.

Katie caught Rachel before she fell on the floor. She set the Oracle on the ground gently, before standing up again.

"Put letters in to connect the two words together," Annabeth said right after the Oracle spoke. "And you'll get it."

The group stared at Annabeth, clearly confused. She sighed, and spoke again.

"New world is a Godshow," Annabeth spoke

"How do you know it's those words?" Grover asked, still confused.

"How do you know it's not?"

"True. But my statement could also be true."

It was hard for children of Athena to be wrong, but occasionally, they could be wrong. And in this situation, the chances were high that they were wrong. It was a guess.

"So you're saying the gods did this?" Katie gestured for the group to look at the deserted city.

"Annabeth was assuming," Rachel began, as she tried sitting up. When she figured out her head hurt, she laid back down again. "I remember what I said, which is weird because I don't usually remember things that I speak, like prophecies. Except, it's like a god wanted us to figure it out. And there's only one god who can do stuff like that."

Rachel looked them all in the eye. All of them stared down at her, as if saying 'go on.' She eventually did.

"Apollo," Rachel finished. "Maybe that's the only god on our side if this is a Godshow. Maybe not."

"What's a Godshow?" Tyson asked, his one eye, staring at Rachel in confusion.

"It's a gameshow. A gameshow for the gods," Annabeth spoke up, her grey eyes, inspecting the sky with anger evident in her eyes.

**A/N: Clarisse is probably OOC, along with a few characters in this story, so sorry about that. Thanks for all the support!******

**mitch2001liu: And now you're mentioned again... I haven't heard of a movie called 'The Cabin at the Woods,' but by the information you gave me, I got a pretty good summary. You'll see in the future chapters if the gods are killing for entertainment or not.******

**Gryphon-Door: I've never actually read the book series, so I guess, maybe the person was saying BS. But, what if the person's not? Either way, I'm going to go with your statement.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 8

"A Godshow," Katie murmured angrily.

Annabeth stayed silent, still looking at the sky, thinking about the entire situation carefully. She prayed to Athena, hoping for an answer. She didn't get any. _So maybe Zeus is up to something, _she mused, not taking her gaze of the splattering rain. _Gods, I'm starting to sound like Percy._ At the thought of her boyfriend, she frowned. Wherever he was, she hoped he was safe.

Rachel knew it was a crazy thought, but all she wanted to do was to sit down somewhere, probably in her cave, and paint something. She didn't know what or who she wanted to paint, but she just wanted to feel some comfort. She sat down on the wet pavement, and closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself painting a painting, but her imagination didn't seem to work today. Her eyes opened and she sighed, seeing the same bleak world in front of her.

Grover felt like eating enchiladas. When they ran out of camp, he had completely forgotten to take his emergency pack which consisted of enchiladas, apples, utensils, ping pong balls with Cheese Whiz, and a few other things. It had taken an hour to prepare the pack, and yet, he had still forgotten it. _Oh well,_ he thought glumly. _At least I survived._ But a tiny voice was nagging in his mind, annoying him to no end. _Is surviving really worth it?__  
_  
"We need to go on," Annabeth stated firmly, her gaze finally focused on buildings instead of the sky. "We can't just stop. They'll catch us."

"You're forgetting something," Katie replied back, a very small smile on her face. "We know how to kill them remember?"

"We're taking too much time," Annabeth pressed on. "We're taking advantage of having knowing how to kill them. What if we're surrounded and they're facing our direction, not their backs? Then we'll all be in trouble."

Katie eventually nodded, seeing the logic in Annabeth's answer.

"Let's go!" Tyson said, before walking forwards.

The rest of the group followed Tyson and eventually came across this old diner.

"Turn on as many active lights in here, and find something to eat," Annabeth ordered as she stepped inside. "We're going to rest here for a while."

And as Annabeth walked off to the kitchen, Grover could swear he heard her say 'we don't have Percy here to shield us off the rain.' Tyson went off to search for the maintenance area to turn on all the lights, while Rachel went off with the daughter of Athena. The satyr and Katie were left behind, trying to find something to do.

"I'm going to go outside for a while," Katie finally said after a silence. "Call me when the food's here. I'll be near don't worry."

But as Katie opened the door of the diner and closed it with a small ding of the bell, Grover couldn't help but watch her retreating figure. He saw her figure disappear in a narrow alleyway that was bright for some reason. He also watched as her shadow cast a figure on the ground. He watched as another shadow appeared. One that was twice the size of her... A full-grown man at least. _An Infected full-grown man,_ he realized with a start.

And without thinking, Grover barged out of the diner, and took out his reed pipes. He ran as fast as he could, or galloped as fast as he could, towards the two shadows. He watched as the big figure got closer to the small figure and huge teeth about to sink into something, about to make another Infected when...

"Katie!" Grover shouted, getting the attention from Katie and the Infected. "Behind you!"

Katie twirled around quickly, and ignored her heart banging on her ribcage. She saw a tree right behind the Infected and she used the leaves to make a chain to wrap around the Infected. She sighed in relief when she saw it struggle to get out. She saw Grover sigh in relief, when she felt saliva mixed with blood dribble on her neck.

_There was still one Infected left...__  
_  
**With the three cousins, in a forest:****  
**  
"We should be near base," Thalia spoke, a slight edge to her voice.

Percy stayed silent, just breathing heavily every time he hobbled another step. Nico nodded his expression still angry at the gods. Thalia was the one leading the way, touching the ground every once in a while to see that they were going the right way.

It was when Thalia began seeing this huge clutter of leaves all piled up together when she began grinning. To Percy, it just looked normal, but to Nico, there was something slightly off. It had a few more leaves on top than any other pile.

"We're here," Thalia said, pointing to the pile of leaves. "Just touch the top..."

Thalia began trailing off, and when she saw her cousins' confused looks, she sighed.

"Even Nico doesn't know how to get in here," Thalia explained. "Just follow my lead ok?"

The cousins nodded, and Thalia touched the top leaf. When her hand made impact on the leaf, it dropped like a rock, and a big opening was seen. She jumped in, and landed gracefully on the ground.

Percy stared at the distance from the surface and the base. It was pretty high, and he vaguely wondered how Thalia managed to jump down since she was afraid of heights. He didn't wonder for long however, because Nico already had a crash landing.

"Your turn now Percy," Nico spoke from the bottom, looking up.

"I don't think I can do it," Percy responded uneasily.

"Come on Kelp Head!" Thalia shouted from bellow. "You can! Look, I'll even get you a ladder."

Percy looked at the base and saw Thalia getting something. Better _than jumping at least,_ he thought as he heard a tiny screeching sound, identifying it as the mini rollers that were attached to the ladder.

A rustle was heard. Percy turned his head quickly, getting Riptide out hurriedly. When he turned, he froze. They were all too focused on the Infected; they had almost forgotten that there were actual monsters here as well. And standing a few meters away from him was his old buddy: The Minotaur.

And only one thought rang in Percy's head at that moment. _Can monsters become infected?_

**With Will, still in the well: **

Will winced at every step he took. Every time his foot made impact with the ground, his back vibrated. He knew it wasn't safe, but he knew he couldn't get on walking like this. He stopped walking and started to sit down on the rocks.

For once in Will's life since the infection started, he relaxed. He didn't see any Infected anywhere, and he heard nothing except his own ragged breathing. But then there came this other noise. Footsteps. He stiffened and gathered all of his things hurriedly. Taking deep breaths, he began to run as quickly as possible. _Survival over pain,_ he reminded himself every time his back stung.

"Wait!" The person or Infected shouted, running to catch up with Will shouted.

The voice sounded familiar to Will, but he didn't know who. He didn't know that Infected could talk. _If I ever make it out of here alive,_ he thought to himself_, I'll be telling any survivor I see the news. If, _he reminded himself. _If.__  
_  
Will started running faster, scared.

"Will!" The voice yelled again.

Again, the voice sounded so familiar. Will wanted to turn back and see who it was, but he didn't want to risk it. He wished that he had the speed of Hermes, but he was the son of Apollo, not the messenger god.

The exit of the cave was right in front of Will. He couldn't see it at first, since it was in the dark. All the same, he couldn't see that the entrance was low, and in an arc. But when he did, he ducked too late. He banged his head on the bumpy rocks. He slid to the ground, trying to stay conscious so he could run again, not wanting to be turned.

"Will!" There was the voice again.

And then Will recognized the voice. It was the same voice as the head counselor before him. _Michael Yew, _he thought in a startled realization before he blacked out.

**With Clarisse and Chris, in a warehouse:****  
**  
"Why would a warehouse be in the middle of the forest?" Chris asked Clarisse as they entered it.

"This is usually the scene where we enter a building and we turn on the lights and then we see Infected all around the place," Clarisse spoke, ignoring Chris' question. "Turn on the lights will you?"

Chris hurried and began looking for switches. On the way, he tumbled over something_. A body,_ he realized with a lurch. _Maybe Clarisse is right._ He hurried to turn on the lights, and flicked the switches on. _She's partly right,_ he thought again, looking around sickly.

Instead of Infected being all around the place, it was disposed human bodies. And they were eaten. They hadn't seen the sign when they came in. If they did, it would have said: Disposed Bodies. And the Infected had feasted on them while they were here.

Not even caring about Clarisse's reaction, Chris jumped over each body and dragged her back out in the forest. Eventually he released the grip on her hand, and they both ran freely, both sick of what they saw.

The sight wouldn't leave their minds for hours as they walked in random directions through the woods. Occasionally, they would find more eaten bodies, and they took turns closing each other's eyes as they directed each other through the woods. Even Clarisse was tired and sick of the Infected. If it were thieves running over the city, she wouldn't care. She would have dealt with it. But these were the Infected. They were a different case. Same rules don't apply.

"We need to rest," Chris finally said after running away from an Infected.

"If you want to get eaten, go ahead," Clarisse snapped, frustrated and tired.

"I'd rather not," Chris muttered a reply, close to collapsing if he didn't get to at least sleep for a few minutes.

Silence overcame them for a while as their walking became slower. And then-

"Find a place to rest," Clarisse said eventually. "I'll get the food. We'll meet here again in ten minutes."

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And you can decide what I should do with Katie: turn into an Infected, eaten alive, or survive. I'll count up all the votes and in the end the deciding fate will win. Thanks for all the support!******

**Gryphon-Door: Thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it a lot. I can't believe I was being BS'd right there, because of one review... Again, thanks so much for doing your research; I'm really grateful for all your support and help!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 9

Chris shot Clarisse a grateful look before he walked away to find the food. Food meaning berries. Meat wasn't safe to eat. It could be infected, and that would be a tragedy. So they would have to stick with nuts and berries. He sighed, and started looking around.

Ten minutes didn't pass by as quickly as Chris thought. He thought he could pick up a few berries, look at his stolen watch, and then ten minutes would be over. He was wrong. It was only two minutes. Two minutes and he had picked up five berries.

Only when Chris actually looked at the berries, was when he realized that they were poisonous. That and the fact that there were really tiny worms crawling in and out of the hole they had made in the middle. He dropped them in surprise and shock.

"Clarisse!" Chris called out. "Forget the ten minutes!"

Heavy pounding footsteps, as loud as a buffalo came charging where Chris was. Clarisse had come with her spear in both her hands. She looked deadly.

"Where's the punk?" Clarisse asked, looking around with her spear raised up high.

"Nowhere," Chris said sheepishly. "I think we should get on the streets, it might be easier to find food."

"No," Clarisse replied firmly. "We can't go in the streets; we'll be out in the open!"

"Think about it," he reasoned. "How many Infected are actually out there?"

Clarisse glowered. "Why did you call us out here?"

"The berries were poisonous, and worms were coming out of them."

Clarisse knew the risks of going out in the streets. She knew the dangers of being out in the open. In the forest, it was safer, and easier to hide. In the streets, they only had buildings, and if you went inside one, you could be ambushed and become demigod meat. The alleyways were too dark and you didn't know what awaited you in there either.

The forest was the safest way to go.

**With Will and Michael, still in the same well: ****  
**  
There was nothing Michael could do except to wait. He checked his pockets, to see if he had any ambrosia or nectar. He found a small plastic bag and saw that there were five ambrosia squares in it. He smiled, and took one out to stand by.

Michael stared at his half-sibling in worry. It had been a few minutes since Will had hit his head on the cave entrance. He would wait for him to wake up and then he would feed him the ambrosia square.

The son of Apollo was still new to the world. It had only been a few days when he had washed up on the shore, and saw a bunch of Infected chasing after him. So he had run away from them and fell in the well, finding Will in the process. He didn't even know what was happening.

It was at least fifteen minutes later, when Will finally woke up. He scrambled away when he saw the face of Michael Yew staring down at him.

"I have some ambrosia," were the first words out of Michael's mouth, as he took out the ambrosia square.

Will took it, grateful and uncertain at the same time. The more intelligent part of his brain told him that ambrosia couldn't get infected. He shrugged and ate it. The square dissolved in his mouth and he could feel himself relax.

"So how did you find me?" Will asked Michael curiously.

"I didn't," Michael answered. "I just fell in the well, and saw that Infected still struggling on the wall. I saw the arrows and knew that a child of Apollo could do that, so I followed the footsteps and found you."

"Was I that loud?"

Michael grinned. "Yes you were."

**With Katie and Grover, outside the diner: **

The second Katie felt the blood and saliva on her neck; she whipped around, getting out her dagger, before running over to where Grover was. She could see the Infected now, saliva dripping from its mouth, a bloodthirsty hungry look in its eye.

And the worst thing was that Katie knew this demigod. She had even been enemies and friends with him. It was the demigod that first started the Infection. Who was the demigod?

Connor Stoll.

Katie looked at Connor, as Grover called for the others. It stared at her, and grinned, showing all its rotten yellow teeth. She backed up, while the satyr was still yelling.

"Annabeth!" Grover shouted. "Tyson! Rachel!"

"We're too far away," Katie said quietly. "They won't hear us."

"Tyson then!" He replied desperately. "He'll hear us."

"We have to rely on ourselves Grover."

Grover chewed on a tin can he had found in his pocket. Katie stared at it nervously, pulling out her dagger from her sheath. They were prepared and not prepared at the same time. And just when the Infected was about to strike, it did something else.

It gave them all an insane grin. Connor's grin that he always wore in camp. Katie froze. It reminded her so much of Travis...

And with that grin being plastered on its face, it ran off, leaving only a rotten foul smell behind. The demigod and satyr stared at the place the Infected had just been a few seconds ago.

And then, a demigod, an Oracle, and a cyclopes came running out of the diner.

**With the three cousins, in and out of base:****  
**  
"Guys?" Percy called out to his two cousins that were in the base. "Can you come out and help me?"

"Percy," Nico responded. "I know you can do it."

"It's not that-" The son of Poseidon was interrupted by the Minotaur.

The Minotaur roared and started charging forward. Percy saw it coming. He was about to dodge, when he suddenly remembered his leg. _Nononono!_ He began thinking rapidly. If he had his full leg, he could dodge. But he didn't. He collided with a tree as the Minotaur charged into him.

Percy's vision was blurring as he slid down to the ground. He vaguely remembered taking out Riptide weakly, and pointing it at the monster. He looked at the Minotaur's face, and could swear that it was laughing at him.

"Thalia!" Percy called out, his voce hoarse. "Nico!"

By now, the two cousins knew Percy wasn't joking around. They climbed up the ladder quickly, looking at the son of Poseidon and then the Minotaur.

The Minotaur had a different target now: the daughter of Zeus and the son of Hades. Without any second thoughts, the two cousins dragged Percy to the base and dropped him in it. Then they jumped inside and sealed off the entrance.

"Aren't you going to fight it?" Nico asked Thalia curiously.

"Aren't you?" Thalia replied, getting out some nectar that she had stored.

Nico stayed silent. Thalia did as well. The Minotaur was still up there, furiously stomping on the entrance, trying to get inside.

"Did you guys destroy the Minotaur?" Percy asked his cousins as he took a sip of the nectar.

"No," Thalia and Nico answered at the same time.

Percy paled. "You do know that the Minotaur's smell will attract the Infected right?"

Thalia's eyes widened in realization, while Nico nodded.

"Let's go destroy it right now," Nico said while his hand was about to press the button to open the entrance.

"No," Thalia said firmly. "We have an emergency exit. We'll use that."

"Where are we going to go?" Percy asked helplessly.

"We're going to leave New York," Thalia said, a glint in her eye.

**A/N: Really sorry for the late update! This is not one of my best chapters, but the next one will be more exciting. Thanks for all the support; I noticed that I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter, so thanks!******

**mitch2001liu: Sometime in the story, I might make a chapter of the gods. I haven't decided yet. Thanks for the compliment; I read your high school story, which was good!******

**BadassBatman: Sorry, I don't do M. But thanks for all the compliments!******

**Gryphon-Door: Zombie Mortals... Do you think I could use that name if I make a chapter for the gods?******

**mememu98: Thanks! I'll explain more on the next chapter. Glad you like it!******

**rosa (Guest: Thanks, and sorry, but Katie survived won.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 10

"What?" Percy asked, staring at Thalia in confusion.

"You heard me. We're leaving New York," Thalia repeated. "We're getting out of here."

"What about the others?" Percy protested against the idea. "What about Annabeth? Grover? Clarisse? Rachel?"

"Now you're just listing random people."

"I'm listing our friends!"

"Who might be dead, eaten alive, or an Infected!"

An argument began immediately. Nico looked back and forth, not knowing which side to take. He wanted to side with Thalia, he really did want to leave, but he knew Percy's fatal flaw was loyalty, if they went, then he might not follow.

"Or alive," Percy retorted.

"Almost all of the hunters are that!" Thalia raised her voice until her voice started breaking. She continued shouting at her cousin. "Almost all the hunters are either three of those things; and I haven't seen a single one alive! They've been trained to hunt, and survive, but now look what happened to them!"

The three cousins didn't realize the continuous stamping above them. The Minotaur and gods know how many Infected were trying to get in the base.

"They were my family Percy!" Thalia continued ranting.

Percy stopped retorting for one minute to grab some crutches he had seen on the way in. He gripped them tightly, and let them lean on a table.

"No one's stopping you from leaving," Percy suddenly yelled. "You can go, but I'm not going."

"Fine," Thalia's eyes were cold as she spoke. "Then don't go."

Thalia turned to Nico, who had no part in the conversation until now. He tried to look anywhere but her, but it was difficult seeing as her sky blue orbs were gazing at him.

"Are you coming?" Thalia finally broke the awkward silence.

When the son of Hades actually looked at Thalia's eyes straight-on, he could swear that there was a layer of her pleading. And Thalia Grace almost never pleads.

"How do you-" Nico began, but got cut off by a layer of huge dust swirling around the place.

"The base," Thalia whispered, and then raised her voice. "We have to go!"

Percy grabbed the crutches, and nearly fell down after his first try of a using them. He struggled as he used them to support himself as he tried to go away quickly, using the hidden exit Thalia had mentioned. He crawled for a few seconds, trying to find his way back to his cousins, but there was too much dust to see clearly.

"Nico!" Percy called put, hobbling on his crutches as he adjusted to them rather quickly. "Thalia!"

A faint 'Percy' could be heard, and he used his senses to check where the sound had come from. Left. Right where the entrance to the base was. He could hear that the voice was female, which meant that it was Thalia.

Trying to move as fast as he could on his crutches, Percy desperately searched for his two cousins.

"Percy!" Thalia yelled, before a loud thud was heard, and then a scream.

Rushing over to the sound of the voice, Percy accidentally tripped on something. A body. An 'oomph' was heard, and he knew it was Nico.

"Nico," Percy spoke to his cousin, dropping his crutches. "Are you ok?"

"Help... Thalia..." Was all Nico said, before Percy could see the dust clear and watch his cousin's eyes close.

"No," the son of Poseidon muttered. "You can't die on me Nico. Come on!"

Shaking the son of Hades, Percy checked for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found out it was still there,

A scream alerted him back to his senses. Thalia. Percy's eyes widened and he feared for the worst as he took his crutches and hurried over to his cousin.

The dust was clearing quickly, and soon Percy could see Thalia lying on the floor, bleeding slowly. He couldn't see the reason where or why, so he went closer, soon finding out the answers to his questions.

It seemed that Thalia had been backing up to a pole, when the Minotaur had charged, it's horns finding it's way to her shoulder. Blood was trickling down like a tiny, un-working fountain that worked with only a tiny stream pouring out.

"Ambrosia," Percy muttered, checking his pockets for any. There wasn't any ambrosia in his pockets. "You need some ambrosia and nectar."

No ambrosia or nectar could be spotted, no matter how much the son of Poseidon searched. He didn't see the Minotaur, which led his thoughts to how the Minotaur could actually fit in the base in the first place.

"Pockets," Thalia mumbled her tongue heavy on her mouth. It seemed that her head had gotten hit as well. "Ambrosia in my pockets..."

The daughter of Zeus used her good arm to reach in her pockets and take out the ambrosia that was in them.

Percy saw the problem immediately. There were only two ambrosia squares. Thalia could have one, but one wasn't enough to heal her shoulder. He needed the other square for Nico, who he didn't know the problem of yet. He wavered, opening the small plastic and taking out one square first.

"Can you swallow?" Percy asked his cousin.

If Thalia had enough energy, she would've rolled her eyes, but she just nodded slowly, eating the ambrosia Percy had given her. She vaguely remembered that she had had two ambrosia squares in the bag. She gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head sadly.

"I don't know what's wrong with Nico, he collapsed for some reason," Percy explained.

"Giv-Give," Thalia was feeling weak, but the ambrosia strengthened her up. "Nico the ambrosia..."

The son of Poseidon didn't even consider eating the ambrosia himself as he crawled over slowly to Nico and fed the last piece of ambrosia to him.

Percy waited for his two cousins to either wake up or feel better. He took out Riptide and felt the sword balance in his hands evenly. He swished it around a few times, making sure he was prepared for any Infected or monsters.

The dust had cleared fully now, so everyone could see where they were clearly. Percy couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest as he watched his cousins either knocked out or just lying down there. He capped the sword and continued waiting, his eyes gazing around base, still searching for nectar.

"You're wondering how the Minotaur got down here right?" Thalia finally spoke, feeling energy rush back to her. Not even giving anyone any chance to respond, she answered the unasked question. "Apparently the Minotaur has made two new entrances."

Thalia pointed up, where the Minotaur was gazing down on them, stamping and snarling at them angrily. A/N: Sorry for the late update and any OOCness. I usually do all of the groups in one chapter, but sometimes it will change into only one group for one chapter. Thanks for all the support! Gryphon-Door: Ok, thanks!


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 11

"I'll take care of the Minotaur," Percy ordered rather nervously. "You can st-"

"No," Thalia responded stubbornly, getting up slowly. "I'm going to fight along with you. You're in worse condition. How about you stay-"

"How about we all fight the Minotaur," a weak voice came from behind them.

The daughter of Zeus, and the son of Poseidon both turned around, surprised to see the son of Hades awake and standing upright.

"Great idea," Percy managed a small weak smile, and bought out Riptide. "Let's go."

"Hold up Fish Boy," Thalia held up her hand, and smiled. "Aren't you forgetting your crutches?"

Percy shook his head, but picked up his crutches all the same, sending his cousin a weak grin in return. He uncapped Riptide with one hand, while being dangerously close to falling with the other hand that had the crutches.

The son of Poseidon saw the problem immediately: he needed both hands for the crutches; and only one hand for Riptide. The problem? He didn't have three hands. He stared at his cousins, but they were too occupied talking about a plan to take down the Minotaur.

It was a hopeless case. Percy saw Nico glance at him.

"You ok?" Nico asked, looking at the severe injury.

Percy just nodded, not knowing what else to do. There was no point in worrying his cousins. He looked down on his leg, and remembered how he used to play hopscotch when he was young with only one leg. Surely he could fight the Minotaur with one leg?

In the end, Percy threw his crutches to his floor and grabbed his walking stick he had seen a few seconds before.

"We should just charge at it," Thalia suggested, not noticing that Percy had only just joined the group. "I'll fire arrows at it, while someone distracts it. Then the other person can kill it from behind."

"I'll distract it," Percy said confidently. "It'll see me as a weaker target and will go at me. Nico can kill it."

Uncertainty flashed in Nico's eyes, but he nodded- agreeing to the plan.

"Ok then," Thalia heaved a sigh, a tiny quiver in her voice to signal that she was nervous about it. "Let's do it then."

**With Clarisse and Chris, in the forest:****  
**  
"Forest is safer," Clarisse continued arguing constantly. "The streets are too much out in the open."

"How open?" Chris retorted with a question, "How about we check?"

"Great idea Rodriguez," Clarisse answered sarcastically. "But deal."

"Really?"

"Don't push your luck punk."

Chris just smiled, as Clarisse started stomping towards the direction for the streets. It wasn't everyday that he won an argument between him and his girlfriend.

Smiling, however, was not on Clarisse's top ten things to do list that moment. She scowled when she saw that smile, and started going back towards Chris.

"Would you mind-" Chris started, but got interrupted.

"No," was the only response he got.

Clarisse was dragging Chris towards the streets, when they heard a noise. An Infected.

"Finally," the daughter of Ares grinned in a sadistic way. "Some-"

"Let's go," Chris tugged on Clarisse's arm like a little kid, but unlike the daughter of the war god, he didn't exactly have her strength.

"I feel like drawing something," was Clarisse's answer as she walked forwards towards the noise.

Unfortunately for her, Chris knew exactly what she wanted to do. He shook his head and continued pulling and attempting to drag her.

And that was when it appeared. There it was in all it's glory- it's teeth so rotten it was nearly black with stains of fresh blood right on it's face. Its eyes looked murderous, but its smile looked nice enough.

It leaped high in the air, but not enough to defy the laws of gravity. It snarled as it landed right behind Clarisse. She managed to dodge the attack and landed right behind the Infected.

"Name something you hate!" Clarisse called out; clearly enjoying the battle she knew she might win.

"A scythe!" Chris replied, sighing afterwards, as he knew he couldn't do anything.

In less then a few seconds, the worst scythe drawing was made on the Infected's back.

The two demigods watched in fascination as the Infected stopped what it was doing. The same process of it dying happened, and once again, they covered their eyes.

"I forgot that a scythe killed them," Clarisse said sourly, as she frowned at Chris.

The only thing the son of Hermes did was shrug. "Let's just go to the streets."

**With Will and Michael, the well:**

"You know we should get a move on," Will said as he packed all his things. "Move to another place."

"Technically this is the safest place," Michael pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's getting dark," Will responded. "And the Infected usually like the dark."

"That's true," the son of Apollo mused. "Let's go then."

The two sons of Apollo surprisingly each carried a small bag, to carry their first aid kit, and some other things as well. Will kept on staring at his half-brother, as if he still couldn't believe it.

"Does Percy still blame himself?" Michael suddenly asked, turning his gaze to Will.

"You know him," Will answered, thinking of all the times he had looked at the Poseidon table, and saw Percy look grieved. "I'm guessing he does."

"If we make it out alive, we can tell him that I'm still alive."

"Well since you're alive- you can tell him yourself."

Michael just nodded, but deep inside, he knew, that it might not be so easy to survive. That maybe the Fates would make certain that his life string would be cut- make it certain that he would actually die.

**With Annabeth and her group, outside the diner:****  
**  
"You arrived a bit late didn't you?" Katie asked with a quiver in her voice.

Annabeth winced at the true accusation. "I'm sorry."

"Tell that to my eaten corpse next time you come late," Katie responded stiffly, as she made her way to the diner, still shaken.

Grover brayed nervously, and glanced at the guilty trio. He didn't exactly want to follow the daughter of Demeter, but what she said was true. Still, that didn't mean he had to follow her example of being angry. He shrugged for no reason and made his way to the diner.

"Grover!" Rachel called out, making the satyr halt his step. Once he turned around, she spoke again. "We're really sorry. We-" she empathized the 'we' part. "Really are sorry."

"I know that," the satyr responded, managing a smile.

So far, Tyson was the only one who hadn't said or done anything except stand there. Then- as if it were an electrical shock, the Cyclopes jumped up, and started running towards the diner.

The others followed him curiously, but they soon realized what he was trying to do.

A small sound of the bell rang out as the door opened a few times. Katie was sitting on one of the chairs, her elbow propping up her head as she stared out the window with almost no emotion at all.

Tyson rushed in the diner and began wrapping Katie in a hug. "We sorry," he spoke truthfully, still embracing her.

Katie returned the hug- first feeling awkward, but then relaxed, while feeling squished at the same time. "Tyson, could you..."

The friendly Cyclopes broke off the hug with a smile on his face, knowing that the apology was accepted.


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 12

"Why did you guys take so long?" Katie asked curiously as she popped a tomato in her mouth casually.

Annabeth sighed as if she had been expecting the question all along. "I was busy trying to get the food in the kitchen. I couldn't hear you yell. It was Tyson who alerted all of us."

The Oracle of Delphi had been gone the entire time they had been talking. She came back with a tray of hamburgers and fries. Her face was slightly pale but she looked happy, which was a rare thing you could see these days.

"I had a vision," Rachel spoke, grabbing some fries and eating them. She swallowed and spoke again. "It was about Percy."

The daughter of Athena eyes sparkled, and she noted that if Rachel was happy, then maybe, this would be good news. She nodded her head at the oracle to continue.

"I guess I should start with the fact that he's alive," Rachel continued, and it seemed that the weather outside got slightly sunnier as if the gods had heard the news. "And that he's with his cousins- Thalia and Nico."

"He found them?" Katie asked in barely a whisper. She smiled, slightly forgetting the incident that happened only a few minutes ago.

"He did," Rachel confirmed.

"Was there anything else you saw?" Annabeth asked hopefully, her once steely grey eyes getting softer.

"No. Except..."

Rachel tried to remember what monster she had seen in the vision. She went through all the monster names in her head. Manticore, hellhound, telekhine...

"Minotaur," the redhead whispered. "They're going to battle the Minotaur."

The satyr brayed nervously, his hooves clopping the tiles on the ground like high heels. "It's the Big Three; they'll manage it easily."

Annabeth paled slightly, and turned to Rachel for any other information. "What else did you see? What was their location?!"

"It looked like they had made their base. They were in a forest," Rachel answered quickly.

"What forest?" It was Katie who asked this time.

"I don't know," the redhead responded quietly, hating to let everyone down. "I really don't know."  
**  
****With Clarisse and Chris, almost approaching the streets:****  
**  
"You make it sound so simple," Clarisse stated as she walked through a pathway that would lead them to the streets. "'Let's just go to the streets.' This isn't a shopping outing for your makeup store Chris."

"I don't wear makeup!" Chris responded, offended by her comment,

"Sure you don't," the daughter of the war god rolled her eyes. "Don't get too sidetracked by looking at the shops," she added sarcastically.

"Sure I won't." the son of Hermes replied, and then grinned. "Don't go on trying on those frilly dresses that look-"

The words died down on his throat as they both got closer to the streets. He could hear slow footsteps thudding ten kilometers per hour as he guessed that the Infected were probably walking around town on their stereotypically slow walk of theirs.

The smell of their rotten flesh and blood added in to the streets that was packed with Infected that were once people. Sounds of a single bloodcurdling scream could be heard all around, and the Infected hurried their walk to their next victim, that was already starting to be feasted upon.

They watched it all. They could both see them all walk to the narrow and dark alley that the victim had so stupidly walked in. Chris' breath hitched as he turned away from the gruesome sight in disgust. Clarisse, however, watched the whole scene. And she hated it.

"You want to go?" Chris asked her quietly, still looking away from the gory sight.

"Don't you want to go shoppi-" Clarisee asked, her face looking like she wanted to slaughter all the Infected- which she did.

"No," the son of Hermes responded, pulling the daughter of Ares out of sight for the Infected to see.

"I'm not surviving on berries and nuts Chris," Clarisse said aggressively, shrugging his hand off roughly.

The two demigods stared at each other- both not listening to the other's reasoning. They were both starving, and them looking grimy and covered with dirt didn't help their rotten stench.

In fact, it was their smell that gave them away. One of the Infected crawled towards the two demigods slowly- having lost a leg during battle.

"You hear that?" Clarisse asked Chris, turning around from their discussion to see what it was.

"What? An Infected?" Chris asked, his hands unconsciously going towards the direction of where he kept his weapons.

"I don't think it's just one either..."

Chris started crouched behind a bush, and stared through the holes. He didn't expect to see the bloody face of an Infected staring back at him with it's teeth wide open to take a bite...

**With Will and Michael, in a cave:****  
**  
"I feel slightly safer now," Michael told Will sarcastically as he sat down on a rock. "Caves are a hundred percent Infected free!"

"I don't think they are," Will responded while sitting down beside his half-brother. He grinned. "I think I hear one creeping behind you right now, waiting to eat-"

"Shut up," Michael replied before glaring.

Will raised his hands in the air as an act of surrender. He stared at his best friend before looking what was behind him.

There was only a dim light in the cave, but Will could clearly see a shadow in the light that they had, that was very close to Michael. He froze his laughter as if it were on a photograph. His half-brother hadn't noticed anything yet.

"What, are we playing musical rocks now?" Michael asked, raising an eyebrow, as he stared at Will.

"No," Will whispered quietly, still trying to figure out who or what the shadow was. He figured out that it might be Michael's shadow, but how could he be sure? His eyes squinted, and that was when he saw the shadow move towards his friend's arm... "No!"

"What?" Michael asked, a little concerned of how his half-brother was reacting. "Are you-" He stiffened.

Will could remember the voice recording he had heard a long time ago. He reminded himself that he should run, but something made him stay.

"Kill me now," Michael choked out, realizing what was going to happen. He stared at his half-brother's blue eyes. "Please."

"I can help you," Will tried, getting out his first aid kit and the ambrosia.

The current head counselor of Apollo dragged his best friend out of the rock and onto the cold stone floor. He started walking steadily towards the exit.

"The... Other Infected," Michael whispered weakly.

Taking out his bow and arrows, Will took a shot and fired his arrow repeatedly on the Infected's head, legs, and arms. His usual happy face was now twisted up in anger, and his eyes were glaring at the Infected that was struggling to take another step.

"I have to get you out of here," Will said determinedly, continuing what he was doing earlier.

Michael stared at his watch that had miraculously survived the entire trip. He remembered that he had glanced at it the second before he got bitten. He stared at it again, wondering if the watch had stopped moving or had gone too quickly.

"Come on Michael," Will repeated, wiping the sweat off his brow, before continuing.

"Will," Michael said, trying to free his legs that were being slid towards the entrance of the cave. When his friend didn't stop, he tried again. "Will!"

This time, he listened. He stopped what he was doing to hear the best news he had heard all day.

"I think the children of Apollo are immune."

**With the three cousins, in the forest and fighting the Minotaur: ******

Apparently arrows did nothing to the Minotaur. Thalia fired off a stream of all types, but the monster just swiped all of the pieces of wood away like swatting away flies. Arrows broke in half, and the daughter of Zeus was starting to get tired.

"Kill it already!" Thalia yelled exasperatedly at Nico.

"I'm trying!" Nico responded back using the same tone as his cousin had.

Nico was trying to get behind the Minotaur's back to stab the monster with his Stygian Ice sword, but anytime he got close, the monster seemed to move forwards as if it expected the move.

The only person that seemed to be doing great on his job was Percy. He limped in front of the Minotaur and remembered the first time he had encountered it. It was the day his mother had disappeared. His anger and frustration only increased as he remembered that day. He took out his capped pen.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Thalia shouted, catching the movement with her sky blue eyes.

"Doing my job," Percy replied while glancing a sideways look towards Thalia before focusing his full attention on the Minotaur.

The Minotaur made a sound between a moo and a loud belch before charging forwards head on. Percy saw the action, and gestured for Nico to attack it. Thalia saw her two cousins move forwards towards the monster to kill it.

"Move out of the way Percy, you'll kill yourself! I'm not going to clean your bloody corpse today," Thalia warned loudly, running over to the son of Poseidon with lightning speed.

"I'm just going to kill the Minota-" Percy started, but then saw the charging and towering monster right in front of him, running straight towards him.

Nico and Thalia moved in sync as they threw their weapons at the same time. Percy added in by throwing Riptide with perfect aim towards the Minotaur.

And just when the Minotaur was about to hit Percy, it disappeared in a golden shower of dust, leaving the cousins decorated in an unwanted sparkle.

**A/N: Really sorry for the late update, school has been making it harder, so expect later updates than two weeks. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for all the support!******

**wyvern97: Thanks! And sorry to tell you, but you'll have to see in the upcoming chapters. It's not Chaos, Gaia, or any other Titan.****  
**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 13

"Damnit," Thalia instantly cursed as she dusted herself off. She blinked rapidly and wiped her eyes. "I think some dust got in my eyes."

Nico barked out a laugh that sounded like an amused snort. "Is that even possible?"

"I'm living proof of that statement di Angelo," Thalia snapped, still rubbing her eyes.

Percy sat down on the ground tiredly, stifling a yawn as he laid his head down on the grassier and softer part of the ground. He sighed, and tried closing his eyes in an attempt to sleep. No such luck.

"Well now that our base is ruined, I suggest we go move to another area," Thalia suggested, kicking her cousin. "Get up."

"No," Percy groaned as he shielded his eyes. "Please don't kick me."

"A please will get you nowhere in this world," the daughter of Zeus responded immediately. She thought for a moment. "Remember what I was saying earlier about going away?"

The son of Poseidon froze from his awkward position of getting up. His heard turned to look at his cousin, while Thalia avoided his stare. She gazed at the ground, her fists clenching, while she was taking deep breaths.

"You're right," Thalia exhaled, before speaking, still not looking at her cousin's eyes. "We shouldn't go. In fact, I bet Nico can probably shadow travel out of here in an instant."

"Thanks for sticking with the loser club," Percy nodded, clapping his cousin on the back, a grin slightly forming on his face.

"He's speaking the facts," Thalia said innocently, placing her hands in the air. "Except he is the-"

"Shhhhhhh. Shush for a minute will you?" Percy hissed quietly, making wild gestures with his hands.

"-Idiot!" An unknown voice spoke, and the sound of a punch could be heard.

The three cousins looked at each other in a weird way, taking out their weapons. Thalia held up three fingers and counted down silently, but Percy quickly took it down.

"We have to go," Nico reasoned, already backing down. "We can't escape the Infected. After all, they can't be killed..."

"Yeah no shit!" Thalia spoke, emphasizing the last word. "Ok, fine, let's do it your way."

It was meant to be sarcastic, but Nico grinned and instantly began running away from the open space. Percy looked towards his cousin and Thalia. He shrugged apologetically, and began running after the son of Hades. He made a gesture that seemed to be something like 'you coming or what?'

"Idiots," Thalia mumbled, but followed after them like a predator chasing its prey.

They failed to notice that the two people speaking weren't infected. They stepped out of the bushes, grimacing as they felt thorns stab their face unintentionally.

Kayla and Austin, children of Apollo were standing there, both knowing that three people were there not so long ago.

**With Will and Michael:****  
**  
"You're kidding," Will said in disbelief.

"I'm not," Michael stated flatly. "Or else I would have turned or killed you by now."

"I'm laughing so hard right now," Will snapped sarcastically. Then his face turned serious. "You think it's because Apollo's the god of medicine, and we have better immune systems?"

The presumed dead son of Apollo nodded. His fingers rubbed his shoulder that was currently spouting out a sort of red liquid that was obviously blood. Will stared at his half-brother, concerned as he began taking things out of his first aid kit.

"Its fine," Michael mumbled, his eyes opening.

"It's not," Will insisted, getting out some nectar and pouring it over the wound.

Nothing happened. The two sons of Apollo stared at the wound in disbelief, and Michael shook his head. He felt his sticky hand and rubbed the substance over his jeans, which happened to now be blood red. He sighed in frustration.

Michael picked up a rock and chucked it at a random tree. No nymph popped out to tell him off, and he frowned before occurring it as 'another random thing that happened.'

"We'll survive," Will muttered in false hope. "Promise."

**With Chris and Clarisse:****  
**  
"Holy shit!" Chris shouted in shock as he jumped backwards.

The daughter of Ares instantly turned towards the sound of Chris' voice and she growled. "What?!"

The son of Hermes pointed at the Infected like someone pointing out the robber at the police station. He had already taken out his dagger and was carefully positioning it in the right way if it decided to come close.

"You'll attract them!" Clarisse whispered while yelling.

It was true. The Infected were starting to come in the direction of the shout and were walking at their zombie speed of theirs. Clarisse shook her head, almost refusing to believe that she was going to die right here, right now.

"I'm sorry Clarisse," Chris apologized, nearly tripping to stand next to her. "It's just that if you had one of those faces staring back at you..."

"You're talking about if we die," Clarisse responded back, rolling her eyes. "We're going to survive."

Pride. That was the problem with the children of the war god. Chris admired it but hated it at the same time. He decided to let it go. They needed all the positivity they could get, because right now, he wasn't feeling too cheerful.

The first Infected walked on. There was a harsh cut on its cheek and dried blood stuck to it like a painting. A pinkie was cut off and you could see a trail of blood coming from its mouth. It advanced towards the direction of Chris, and he felt prepared as he dodged its futile attempt at a bite, and got to its back, slashing the scythe, and closing his eyes as he heard the familiar sound of it dying bang in his ears.

"You want some?!" Clarisse was yelling, pushing them back with her spear, and kicking them. "Well this is it!"

The Infected were starting to get aggravated. More vicious. More like the beasts they were created to be. Since their last meal, their never-ending pits of their stomachs were slightly full. But what was the harm of eating two more demigods?

Arms were waving wildly and jaws moving up and down, the Infected were getting more brutal with their attacks. Due to many being demigods, they carried weapons with them. One of them swung a huge axe and it nearly nailed Chris in the head if he hadn't ducked. It hit a tree instead.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT!?" Clarisse screamed to the dark and cloudy sky, putting more force in her attacks. "You stupid bastards, all of you Olympians!"

Thunder rumbled in warning, and suddenly rain was pouring down on the two demigods slashing the Infected in rhythm and beat as if dancing to a waltz. Clarisse's hair got damp and stuck to her forehead along with the sweat that was surprisingly starting to build up.

One. Two. Three. Four. Infected started to decrease their numbers, and a insane grin started to creep up the faces of the two demigods. Laughter could be heard as a sign lunacy, and if people ever saw, they could even think they were mad.

Dancing in the rain. Fighting, slashing, while blood flew everywhere, splashing them with pieces of flabby and bulbous skin. It seemed that they were winning. But just at the last second-

-a cry of pain. Alerts and happy screeches from the Infected were heard from the remaining ones. Clarisse paused her rhythm to watch as Chris fell, a throwing knife stuck in upper leg area.

"Hell," Clarisse muttered, going closer to Chris to help him out. She glanced around, seeing many Infected closing in around them. "You little piece of SHIT!"

The deadly electric spear swung around seemingly carelessly, but Chris, who watched from the sidelines, knew that only experts in spears could handle their weapon like that. She grasped the wood that was charged and crackling flecks of blue and as quick as a bull charging on all fours, she roared loudly as she went on rampage mode.

"BASTARDS!" Clarisse screamed, blocking them off with one twirl, and a karate kick to the stomach.

The only thing the son of Hermes could do was watch, and try to avoid any attacks that were thrown at him. A good skill for the son of messengers was run. He checked his pockets to see if he had any nectar.

Smiles. Pulling at the corner of his face, Chris managed to smile, but it turned to a grimace. He took out the bottle that somehow managed to fit in his pocket perfectly. He nearly hung his head in shame as he remembered that the jeans were magical- any items that were in the pocket could fit. In this case, it was nectar.

At the last minute of Chris taking put the bottle, an Infected leaped and lunged at him like a wild animal in a cage that wanted freedom. He limped back in shock, and the bottle hit the ground with a small thud.

"Damnit!" Chris cursed, seeing that the cap was open.

The drink of the gods spilled like a newly built manmade waterfall trickling in a small stream down on the dirty grounds. The Infected paid no mind to the drink that was spilling. An arrow was stuck in its head at the side, and it's chapped lips cracked as it opened it's mouth to take a bite.

Teeth had never scared Chris anytime before the day he was in now. Rotten yellow, soon turning black teeth snarled back at him, clicking and clacking at him like high heels hitting the floor in a run.

Clack. Click. Clack. Click. As well as annoying. Now or never. As the Infected took its final leap to finish him off hungrily, Chris took out the throwing knife that was stuck in his thigh with a yell, and dodged the attack as he did the clumsiest roly-poly on earth as he drew the design of the scythe on the Infected's back.

"If you're busy frolicking around there Rodriguez," Clarisse called out, avoiding her death as she moved away from the clumsy sword attack. "You might want to come back and share this spotlight with me that someone signed us up on intentionally."  
**  
****With Annabeth and her group:**

"Stupid stupid stupid," Annabeth muttered repeatedly as she banged her head on the cold diner's countertop. Her fists were clenched tightly and her curly blonde hair tumbled down her, covering her face that was currently hidden from view. "I should never have let him go. Who does that anyway?!"

Saying 'you do' wouldn't help the situation either way. The other occupants in the diner all kept their mouths shut as they watched the daughter of Athena rant out her problems.

"Big brother's alive!" Tyson shouted happily, crushing Annabeth in a bear hug. The Cyclopes stared at her face that looked like it needed some air. "You not happy?"

"I'm happy Tyson," Annabeth responded, forcing a small smile to go on her face, as her lung capacity started taking the air she needed. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, and spoke again. "I shouldn't have abandoned him."

"There's one good thing right?" Katie added in, trying to be positive. "At least he found his cousins right?"

Annabeth nodded her head rather weakly, and straightened up, tucking a blonde lock behind her hair as an act of nervousness. "We rest here for a while. After that, we have to go. That is, if none of them are in here already."

"I checked the back," Rachel offered, raising her eyes from the food she was focusing on. Taking another bite out of her food, she waited a while before speaking again. "I checked everywhere actually. There's no Infected in the diner. I locked all the windows and doors as well."

Wisdom's daughter breathed out a sigh of relief, and gave a small smile. "Right, I'm just going to see what else I can get."

"Do they have enchiladas?" Grover spoke up, sounding hopeful.

"I'll see what I can get."

And with that, Annabeth disappeared behind the curtain that was slightly ripped.

**A/N: I kind of tried a new writing style, so the style might have been slightly different from the other chapters. And for the two newly added demigods, they aren't OCs; they are actual characters from the book. Thanks for all the support!******

**wyvern97: I suppose. Thanks, hope you enjoyed this one!******

**LuvPeaceCandy: Actually it's because Apollo is their dad, and he's the god of medicine, so they have better immune systems.******

**Keeta-x-Tribias: It can affect demigods and mortals as well.******

**mitch2001liu: Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 14

"E, e, enchiladas, ah what the Hades?" Annabeth muttered under her breath, accidentally spilling some apple juice on herself. She looked around, her grey eyes scanning the small food storage room, to see what there was to eat. "Got it!"

Enchiladas were the new 'in' at the diner before it got raided by the Infected. Annabeth smiled slightly as she grabbed two full boxes of them and set them down on the floor. Another huge eight pack of coke and other soft drinks were right in front of her, and the weight added to her list of what to get.

She wished that it was just another outing, that she and her friends were at to enjoy themselves, and in a way, it actually could be. Just a really twisted psycho version of it all. A grim and bitter laugh escaped her lips, as she saw some unprinted advertisements on the wall next to her.

'A better future for your enjoyment! Sit down in the diner and forget all the rest!'

Loud ripping, could be heard as Annabeth ripped them angrily, feeling an unexpected mood swing pass by her. She hated what the world had evolved in. Forget about the 2012 doomsday crap, the Infected was more likely to fit the image of 'DOOMSDAY.'

"You need any help with that?" Rachel called out from the closed door.

The daughter of Athena was startled, and she dropped the shreds of the pieces of paper she had in her hand. She shook her head, straightening up.

"Its fine, I'll be out in a few minutes," Annabeth responded, feeling sluggish.

"Sure," Rachel's voice sounded concerned, but Annabeth dismissed it.

Annabeth felt a sort of hysterical happiness inside of her. She was glad Percy was okay and alive, but she wanted to see him again. One last time before either one of them died or gets turned. The chances were high, that she might even die before him. Being naive was always a funny thing.

Sighs could be echoed on the tiny closed off space, as she heaved up eight boxes of those old food surprises for kids. Memories washed over her, as she recalled the time she got one of those packets when she was young.

"Now isn't really a time to go into memory lane Annabeth," Katie said, she was leaning in the doorframe, looking worried, but adding humor to her words as she spoke.

"It's-I'm fine," Annabeth responded, stumbling and turning around to face her friend. She planted a realistic smile on her face as she hastily grabbed all the food and drinks she had found. "Let's go."

**With Clarisse and Chris:****  
**  
"Ah stupid idiots," Chris said through gritted teeth, as he barely avoided a nasty bite from an Infected.

Clarisse nodded her head, smirking as she defeated yet another Infected successfully. "I thought children of Hermes were supposed to be better insulters than most demigods."

"My brain isn't working that well," Chris replied, refusing to answer the comment.

Both of them didn't speak for a while, both their weapons splashing and piercing decayed flesh. Clarisse had a nearly sadistic and maniacal grin on her face- the one that she reserved for battles. She dodged an attack, leaping away like a frog and pounced on one of the Infected, scribbling a scythe on its back, and it shriveled before dissolving into light, which she had already turned away from.

The crowd Infected seemed endless. Chris desperately clung onto the (hopefully) true hope that he had. Otherwise, the hope was false. He would die, and eventually Clarisse would either be dead, eaten, or turned. Those were usually the only options. It seemed that the option of 'staying alive' wasn't there.

"Come on Chris," Clarisse yelled, backing away from a horde of Infected before charging full speed like an angry bull; or in other words, a Minotaur. Nothing less could be expected from a demigod that defeated a drakon.

"My leg hurts," Chris couldn't help but mumble, as his actions started to tire, and eventually become sluggish.

"Stay alive, keep the hope in your mind that you want to go shopping. Hades, I'll go with you if we defeat all of them!" Clarisse's voice was definitely louder than Chris'.

"What a tempting offer!" The son of Hermes answered, feeling a rush of adrenaline burst through him like a sugar rush. "You going shopping with me are like a dream come true!"

"I'm glad you feel that way."

The daughter of the war god went closer to Chris, and they ended up fighting back-to-back, like some sort of partners in crime. Insane smiles were on their faces that could be surprising to most demigods. If they died, or turned into Infected, at least they wouldn't die as whimpering or cowering cowards. They would at least die as brave people.

"If we die, you think we'll go to Elysium?" Chris asked Clarisse, as his eyes closed for a brief second before opening again.

"Don't get your hopes up. You ever heard of infected spirits?" Clarisse answered, feeling like a killjoy. Her sadistic grin slowly slid off her face. "Then again, we didn't know the Infected existed either."

"Nobody knows Clarisse," Chris stated truthfully. "Except maybe..."

"The Olympians," Clarisse replied softly for once, doing a fancy little ballerina twirl before scratching some lines on the back, before shutting her eyes from the blinding light. "I know."

**With the three cousins:**

"You're annoying you know that Jackson?" Thalia commented as she ran with the speed of an ex-hunter.

"Gee," Percy responded sarcastically. "You have no idea."

"Just checking with you," Thalia answered, raising her hands in the air as a mock act of surrender.

"You know what we haven't tried yet?" Nico butted it, adding to the conversation. And before anyone could reply a word, he continued, "Iris messaging."

The looks of disbelief, and idiotic emotions played on the older cousin's faces. They obviously haven't thought of that before. Percy's eyes lighted up for a second, his green eyes sparkling like a true ocean should. Not like those polluted waters that some areas had. He fished out a drachma from his pockets, and searched for some water to create a rainbow.

"I haven't seen a source of water since a day ago-..." Thalia's voice faltered, and eventually turned quiet. "How did we even survive? You especially Perce, how can you survive without water?"

The only answer to the fair asked question was a mild shrug. Maybe the effect of not having any water was starting and he wanted to save his energy.

The son of Hades had no problem with the lack of realization of no water. "WATER! There it is!" His energy was still there alright.

The son of Poseidon smiled genuinely, going to the small puddle quickly. Using his 'fishy' powers, he made a gesture and from his command, the water shimmered across like a rainbow, just without the usual colors. He paused and stared at his cousins as if saying 'will this work?'

They shrugged back, having no clue. Percy sighed, and threw the drachma in. "Iris-" No sooner than even finished, the drachma fell out instead of disappearing, and the unseen message, along with the water splashed back on the ground again.

The Iris messaging idea was clearly a fail.

**A/N: Extremely sorry for the late update, and the kind of short chapter! I'll try to update shorter than three weeks next time. Hope you enjoyed the chapter though, and thanks for all the support!****  
**


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: I don't know much about Austin or Kayla, so I apologize if they're OOC.

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rapper's Delight from the Sugarhill Gang, or the famous Skyrim meme 'I was an adventurer like you... Until I took an arrow to the knee'******

Chapter 15

"It doesn't work," Percy spoke glumly, seeing the drachma and the leaking water on the ground.

"Don't worry, maybe it'll work tomorrow," Thalia said, trying to be reassuring.

"Sure, we might not be alive either, it's hopeless," Percy responded, feeling annoyed and in a bad mood. He continued ranting. "What's the point of surviving anyways?"

"And I thought you were supposed to be the 'preppy' one," Nico muttered, feeling the slightest hint of discouragement from his cousin. "If you're depressed, don't spread it around, now you're making me depressed."

"Nico one Perce," Thalia snorted, but felt slight sympathy towards her cousin in that part.

In a way, Percy was being realistic, and Nico was supposedly being the 'naive' one. Or maybe it was between false and no hope. Infected or 'zombie' filled world with only a few percentage of surviving.

"Come on," it was Thalia talking this time, and her tone was lighter than her before tone, which sounded more brash. "We need to keep on going."

"Go where?" Percy decided to be pessimistic (again.)

"Away from here," Thalia responded impatiently, looking around at the dark aroma that suddenly spread throughout the forest like a wind storm going at a speed of hundred kilometers an hour. She felt goosebumps ripple through her already rather pale skin, and shivered, pulling her jacket closer to her. Then added an unreassuring, "duh."

"See Thalia knows how to keep the mood up," Nico commented. He frowned, thinking of the olden days. "You used to be the one doing that."

The son of Poseidon cracked a small grin, perhaps showing that he was still in there, just 'slightly' grim and annoyed. He sighed afterwards, turning around, and pulling out a torn picture like some clichéd movie.

It was his mother. A picture of when they were younger. Percy was at the beach, holding a dripping ice cream cone, while looking up at his mom mischievously, a sheepish grin on his young face. Sally herself looked to be laughing.

"She didn't even publish her second novel," Percy started talking, his voice breaking with emotion.

As if an alarm clock shrieked 'WAKE UP!' the two cousins abruptly got it. Nico was the one who broke the awkward tension.

"Percy, what happened to your mother?" Nico asked seriously, the answer already forming into his mind.

"She's one of them now," the son of Poseidon responded, pointing towards one of the infected that was advancing slowly. "She's an infected."  
**  
****With Will and Michael:****  
**  
"Remember the Titan War?" Will muttered, looking at his half-brother who was 'remembering.'

"I do," Michael responded. "What would you pick, a moment in the Titan War or right now?"

It was silent for a long time. Michael stared at his half-brother, giving him time to pick, since he knew it was a hard decision.

"The Titan War," Will finally mumbled. "At least if a monster killed you, you're dead, here, you might get eaten alive, be dead, or get turned into an infected."

The son of Apollo nodded almost wisely. "Same for me. There's one more option though. You forgot the surviving part."

Will's expression turned glum and sour, a change, and the opposite from his usually cheerful and 'sunny' face. He chuckled rather bitterly. "Soon, the demigod race is going to die out."

Michael nearly stopped, his brain going into 'thinking' mode. "Isn't that a bit deep?"

"Isn't everything?" Will responded, his arms gesturing towards the cloudy skies, and the rain that had ironically started to fall at that exact moment.

"Not really," Michael answered to the unknown question. "Cookies aren't," he pointed out.

"Depends what cookies," Will mused, pondering the options. "There are the mega-huge ones and the thumbprints..."

"And the dark chocolate, with whole wheat grain cookies," Michael imitated Annabeth's voice badly.

The mood lightened up a bit, and so did the weather. The heavy hail changed its heaviness and form, transforming into minuscule raindrops. Will cracked a smile, and his usual expression from the olden days was almost back on his face.

Almost.

"I'm hungry now," Michael announced, "we shouldn't have talked about cookies..."

"In camp we could have talked about it all the time, and the Stolls could have gotten it for us," Will responded wistfully. His expression turned to a grimace. "How ironic that the two pranksters of the camp started the most serious disease."

"They didn't start it," the presumed dead son of Apollo pointed out. "The vial remember? It just happened to be Connor that had to start it."

"Or maybe he was the host of the Fates," Will suggested, feeling strangely tranquil as he looked around without seeing a gruesome sight of blood and guts. His half-brother shrugged, while he sighed, thinking about the cookies they were talking about earlier. "We should find some shelter."

**With Austin and Kayla:**

"Missed them by that much," Kayla said, sighing.

"Almost though," Austin responded, trying to stay positive. "We might get better luck next time."

The daughter of Apollo just continued walking on the muddy ground of the forest, staring down, without saying a word. Her half-brother caught up to her fast speed, looking around cautiously.

"Shhh!" The sudden hiss of Kayla's voice alerted Austin.

The two children of Apollo both froze at the exact moment; even if it was Kayla who spoke. She gripped her bow from her back, loading a supersonic quiver on the string, before nudging her half-brother to do the same.

They might as well be dead. The calm rustle of the trees turned into some hardcore shaking from the prickle bushes. Kayla felt adrenaline surge through her, the need for running away was well in their favor. Austin stared in the eyes of his half-sister, nodding.

And together, they ran-

-a low snarl emitted from the meaty flesh of an Infected. Not just one. They came in pairs as if they had been a couple in their mortal or demigod life. Kayla gave out a small gasp as she saw one of her demigod sibling in one of the pairs. She stiffened, while Austin tried not to look, instead looking for a way of escape.

Austin mumbled the nearly inaudible words of, "we're not going to make it."

"No," Kayla mumbled incoherently, feeling anger spread through her. "Not now. Not today." And just when Austin thought she was making some sort of pep talk, she continued. "We have to make our final stand last."

And so they charged into battle, two demigods of Apollo versus an entire horde of Infected.

**With Clarisse and Chris: ****  
**  
They were locked into battle. The two demigods and unlikely pair to end up together managed to cut down a fraction of the Infection population. And they managed it with style. Clarisse was wearing a grin she would only wear on her birthday as she received some nuclear bomb shells.

And Chris... He wasn't exactly Mr. Grinning son of Hermes. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't grimacing either. More like a clown's in-between the middle. A grim smile. Confusion.

It felt like they were listening to a song from the estimated 80s time. Some type of boogie song. The hip hop song Rapper's Delight seemed fitting. Clarisse brutally slaughtered another Infected by first stabbing her electric spear through it's head, and then started doodling a scythe on it's back.

"I'm hungry," Chris announced, starting to feel tired. There was only so much energy a son of Hermes could have with a knife to the leg. His eyes glinted for a second, before continuing. "I was fighting as well as you-"

The daughter of Ares didn't know whether to grin even wider, or groan.

"Until I took a knife to my leg," Chris finished, changing the meme, before his grim smile turned into a grin.

Clarisse decided to stick with doing a mental facepalm. "Positivity is just what we need right now."

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but hoped you all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for all the support!******

**Demigod son of Poseidon: Mostly, I have it planned out. I'll see what I can do with the suggestion.******

**CrazyAnProudofIt (Guest): Life is full of disappointments, sorry, but someone did had to start the Infection, and for the first chapter, I asked who should start it, and I got a review saying that Connor should start it, and that's how it turned out. I've got another story about them though, so if they're your favorite characters, you can read that if you like. So once again, I'm sorry, and thanks!******

**The Stoll Brothers: I know they're awesome, and I chose them because another person chose them, sent a review, and then they became the first infected. Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 16

"Get those feet moving!" Clarisse barked out as if she was a gym teacher.

"That's ironic," Chris muttered lowly, dodging an infected as it swiped, hunger in it's completely red eyes. "Considering my leg hurts like hell."

"This is hell Chris," the daughter of Ares stated, roaring as she took the weapon from one of the infected and stabbed it in another one's face brutally. She used the time to scratch a tiny picture, before moving on to her next target. "And the good thing is that we're still surviving."

The son of Hermes shrugged. "How's that a good thing?"

Clarisse allowed herself to look away from her victim for one second to give him a dirty look. "We're not cowards."

And suddenly Chris knew what it was all about. "This is all about your stupid Ares pride isn't it?!"

"Look here punk," Clarisse warned dangerously. She never even got close to making him terrified.

"What's the point of even surviving?!" Chris shouted, ignoring the fact that there were infected all around them. "There's no-" he took a breath before continuing in a more stabled tone. "There's no point in even surveying anymore. There are hordes more to come, you know we'll die out or get turned eventually."

Disbelief was evident in Clarisse's face. _Well that's a first,_ Chris thought randomly. She eventually got over it as she instinctively ducked as an infected lunged. Anger grew on her face.

"YOU WANT TO GO?!" Clarisse roared. She got her electric spear, and instead of pushing some infected, she pushed Chris. Hard. "THEN GO!"

They switched turns. Chris felt electricity jolt up his body as he flew backwards, hitting a tree from the force of the push. His dagger was only a meter away from him, but due to his back hurting, he couldn't reach it due to his spine possibly being broken.

He groaned, feeling himself being stunned for a moment. Chris tried moving his arms but they still tingled and felt numb. Glancing up, he saw Clarisse's arrogant and pride filled face above of him, and scowled. Not the good-natured ones he usually gave out. The real, full out, angriness and rage one.

The son of Hermes had fury in his brown eyes that were now much darker than before. He still couldn't move.

During all the whats and happenings, the 'couple' almost forgot about the infected swarming around them. Well Clarisse didn't. She had a grim and bitter smile on her face, her spear grasped tightly in her hand as she sprung back into battle.

A panicked look could clearly be seen on Chris' face. He closed his eyes, abandoning all hope.

The infected snarled and dived at the soon-to-be dead demigod hungrily. They completely devoured him, as he screamed loudly, feeling teeth- rotten black and yellow teeth- sink into his skin like a vampire. Except this time they tore it off.

Blood spurted everywhere as if it were a gory horror movie, as the teenager screamed for the last time before his vocal sounds were silenced due to the group of infected ripping out flesh, and feasting on everything except his bones.

Clarisse made a coward run, knowing she had no chance, her 'stupid Ares pride' being broken. She finally admitted defeat by being smart, and by making a 'wise' decision.

She didn't once look back.  
**  
****With Annabeth and her group: ****  
**  
Grover was enchilada-happy once he looked at the food displayed in front of him. He began grabbing at least seven of them, before stuffing half of one in his mouth. Katie grimaced at the sight, but Rachel smiled, doing the same to a few leftover fries on her tray.

"What's with satyrs and enchiladas?" Katie asked, recoiling and grabbing some juice.

"They taste great," Grover said with his mouth full, somehow making his words sound all clear.

"Here's the plan," Annabeth interrupted, the palm of her hands hitting the sleek counter with force. "We stay here for a while, but we need to pack food along our stay. If the infected come here, we'll take the boxes or bags of food and take them with us. Don't be greedy, and take. Only. What. You. Need." She said, speaking with emphasis. "We won't be here long because the infected can sense our smell and noise, so we'll be out of here in two days or earlier."

Tyson nodded happily. "Good plan!" He cheered until Annabeth shot him a look.

"And try not to make much noise," Annabeth added. "The streets may look empty, but Connor was here before, and he might come back."

The others nodded, slightly fearful of Annabeth.

"Great," Annabeth continued, her voice taking a lighter tone. "Start packing, there's a storage full of food at the back."

The satyr's eyes widened and lit up slightly, hoping for more enchiladas, but at the same time feeling hopeless. _Maybe I can try to resist the temptation..._ He thought, but it was a pathetic thought, even for his standards. With a sigh, he headed over to the storage area.

While the others walked towards the food storage, Annabeth sat down on one of those high bar chairs, leaning forwards slightly, as she sighed. Her blonde curly 'princess hair' was tousled and was all over her weary face. She was thinking of how she lost Percy.

"Annabeth?" A loud, attempted to be soft voice called out.

Said demigod turned around. "Yeah?"

"We're not going to die right?" Tyson asked, his one calf eye looking at her.

She was about to say yes, but then remembered that the last thing everyone needed was negativity. But then again, positivity wasn't exactly helpful in a situation like theirs either. "I don't know Tyson."

"What about big brother?"

"He- He's going to survive. Your big brother's strong," Annabeth reassured the Cyclopes, but it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself.

"Promise he'll live?"

The daughter of Athena found herself saying the word. "Promise."

**With the Olympians:**

"Y-You can't do this to them," Hermes managed to gasp out, shackles shackling his hands and ankles.

"Oh yes I can," a female voice responded. "I asked if you wanted entertainment. Nearly all of you said yes. So this is what you get."

"N-Not like this," a different voice- Poseidon- answered. "You're killing them!"

"No," the female spoke sharply. "I didn't."

None of the Olympians had given up helping save their children or hunters. Apollo was surprisingly the only one who hadn't spoken at all during the capture and shackling. He was trying as hard as he could to help save his children that roamed the infected world.

"So many demigods died," Athena stated, bowing her head down in respect for the dead demigods. She stared at the hooded female figure in anger. "It's your fault!"

"Now now," a smirk appeared underneath the hood. "Don't be childish Athena. I thought you were the wisdom goddess?"

Athena's grey eyes flashed dangerously, and if had not been for the shackles, someone would have died by now. She struggled to get out of her bounds.

A cackle escaped from the hooded figure's throat as she left the room, turning on the light to show the huge plasma screen to let the Olympians see their children or hunters suffer.

That night, Hermes cried over the loss of his son. "You'll pay Gaia." His eyes flashed with fury and he could feel his shackles creaking by a tiny bit. "You'll pay."

**A/N: Okay, I had this last minute idea, and so instead of it being the gods, it's Gaia. It's not because she's the most mainstream clichéd villain to be evil, but I'm not that informational on Greek mythology, and it makes sense for her to be the villain (in my opinion at least.) How she rose will be explained in later chapters. Thanks for all the support!******

**Ares'sBestLittleTaunter: His mom became an infected, not died, but if there was some mixup, I'm sorry for the confusion.******

**jebbus132: Thanks! I try to make mine different from the other stories, or in this case, the other zombie stories.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 17

"Lights. Camera," Gaia started out in joy as she appeared in the room of the gods. She smiled maliciously, showing her white pearly teeth. "Are you ready for the next set of 'The Infection'?"

"We watched the screen the entire night," Athena spoke through gritted teeth.

"What's your point?" Gaia asked coldly, her voice changing to a negative tone. "I don't see what you're trying to say! If I recall Athena, you were one of the ones that wanted entertainment."

Athena flinched slightly, guilty at the reminder. "This isn't entertainment! This is cruelty, it's worse than child labor!"

"It's beautiful," Gaia said before smiling. "The world falling to chaos, and the demigods trying to survive, while the gods are at fault!"

"It's your fault!" Poseidon roared, struggling against the chains that bound him from attacking Gaia.

"Is it now? I clearly remember hearing you say you wanted entertainment."

Silence. By now, most of the Olympians had already figured out it was like a cycle; never ending. Whenever one of them would say something, Gaia would just reply with a 'I thought you wanted entertainment.'

The primordial smirked, her glossed lips turning upwards. "Action!"

Artemis could only stare at Gaia; her silver eyes that used to be shining were dim. When the hunters swore the oath, there was this special connection. Every single hunter that she ever recruited was special to her. A bond that was almost like a mother and daughter. And now, most of them were dead. Her head hung low as she mourned.

Gaia left in happiness, leaving an even darker mood set upon all the Olympians. Hestia, who was also chained up was next to Artemis. She must have noticed something more wrong than what the other gods were feeling.

"How many are lost?" Hestia asked quietly, staring into Artemis' dim eyes.

Said goddess stared back at Hestia in sadness. "I used to have twenty eight." She breathed deeply, blinking rapidly as she fought back against her upcoming tears. "Now there's only four. There's one now, at the 'Artemis' section."

Hestia stared at the sections of the different screens in sadness and stared as a hunter leaped over a tree log stealthily. She got out her bow and started shooting quickly, before starting to run.

An infected chased after her, drooling as its teeth bore like a rapid dog but worse. It finally lunged, nearly grabbing the hem of her shirt, but she ran faster, speeding away with fear. It didn't even bother chasing after her anymore.

Artemis sighed in relief, her head dropping down again. "She was always one of the fastest ones."

Hestia didn't talk again, remaining silent, and since she didn't have any children of her own, looked at other gods' screens instead. There were screens for all of the Olympians except for her and Hera. Each one of the screens showed their children or in (Artemis' case, hunters) and if there were multiple children, there would just be more screens. So far there were at least seven screens less than there was two days ago.

"So many losses," Demeter stated quietly, watching the screen and seeing Katie. "So many."

"Why did we even say we wanted entertainment?" Aphrodite wailed, sniffing as she watched one of her daughters run for her life.

"We didn't know Aphrodite," Hephaestus grunted. "Talk about a killing show."

Hera's usual queenly face crumbled like a rock cracking into tiny pieces. "They were- They were... Innocent... Demigods... Except for your hunters Artemis, they were always a mix. And now, most are gone. Wiped out of the earth. Eaten. Mutilated. They can't even go down to the Underworld. I hated them at first. Except maybe- No, never mind..."

By now, most of the Olympians were hearing Hera and her speech of whatever she was trying to say.

"I used to love it," Hera laughed bitterly, ignoring the loud BAM! as several of the gods clanged their wrists against the shackles. She ignored the furious stares sent her way, and continued her talk through the other chatter aimed her way. "Love the 'killing show.' Seeing them suffer."

"Don't... Just, stop-" Hermes warned, but it was a futile attempt. His glare intensified as she continued.

"But then... I realized that I made... I made a mistake... Th- That no matter why or how you cheated on your wives or husbands... They were- are, still your family. And that you suffer everyday and that..."

"Get to the point Hera," Hephaestus spoke through gritted teeth.

"I was wrong," Hera finally said, and her face showed no signs of lying. "And Gaia needs to pay."

Ares was the first one in a long time to let a small grin go on his face. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"How?" Hermes asked. It was one of the first times he had spoken clearly with a hint of excitement since his son had been brutally eaten.

"We need a plan," Artemis spoke up, her head looking up, partly to look at the screen, and the other part to look at all the Olympians. "A plan to get out of these chains-"

"And to slaughter Gaia," Poseidon continued. "And then... The demigods... What will happen?"

"You've heard the tape," Demeter spoke. "And you've seen the screens. How many demigods are going to be left after we get out and miraculously beat Gaia? And what are we going to do with all the destruction, fix it? Just start a new world order 'in with the new, out with the old?'"

"We never wanted to kick the 'old' out Demeter," Zeus growled.

"What if it's a drug?" Dionysus asked. Everyone stared at him. "What? The drug affecting everyone's minds. What if, if we get rid of the drug, it'll be the same old normal world that everyone loves and hates?"

There was silence for a long time.

"Not possible," Hades said, shaking his head.

"It's always a possibility," Poseidon pointed out.

"Think it this way. The drug is in the mist, clouding everyone's minds from the real world. So the actual world is still there, just unseen, including by us."

"If you think about it that way, it's actually possible," Hestia spoke.

"The damage will still be inflicted on the real world. Every single thing that happens here happened in the real world except for the infected. The demigods that are dead will remain dead. The ones that are turned into infected will be dead."

A rectangular piece of cardboard fell out of nowhere, startling Aphrodite who couldn't help but shriek slightly.

_'So you figured it out. Try figuring out how to get out of the chains and then we'll see what you're capable of- Gaia.'__  
_  
**A/N: Extremely sorry for the late update and the short chapter! I know this chapter had some OOCness, but I hope all of you will now know how the Infection actually started. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; thanks for all the support!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 18

"You're a daughter of Ares, who the hell needs love anyways?" Clarisse muttered as she ran through the bushes, thorns prickling her skin. "He was a wimp after all."

She couldn't convince herself to believe it though. Struggling through one particular prickle bush, she growled and cut it right open, making the prickles fall to the ground.

"Stupid idiot son of Hermes," she continued muttering, slashing her way through the forest. "Damnit. Stupid Aphrodite."

Something that looked like an attempt for a lightning bolt flashed across the sky. She snorted, her electric spear electrocuting anything that feared step in her path.

She stopped abruptly, her mouth a bit agape.

A dead eaten corpse was right in front of her. And she just happened to step right into the middle of the gaping hole through the ribcage. She groaned, feeling fresh blood on her combat boots. Even children of Ares needed some respect for the dead; however she may not be.

Battle instincts were the second thing she thought. _If that's fresh blood then an infected will be nearby,_ she thought with a grim expression, her hands making her spear set into a war position.

And that was when it leaped.

**With the three cousins:****  
**  
"S-She tried to kill me," Percy whimpered softly, sitting down on the ground while rocking on his knees. "My mom tried to kill me."

A cool breeze swept past them, and Thalia shivered, pulling her jacket tighter to herself. She patted Percy on the back, meaning more than what she was doing. Silently, she moved her gaze towards Nico, who was staring off into space emotionlessly.

"You don't have to pretend you don't care," Thalia whispered as she joined her cousin.

"What if I don't?" Nico answered in a monotone voice. "What if I didn't care?"

No reply. Thalia remained silent, pondering on the thought. She stared at the dark sky that seemed to be taunting her and she let a low growl escape her lips. Staring right into Nico's eyes, she saw that underneath the black soulless eyes, there was a flicker of anxiety and worry.

"So you don't care that Sally has been-" Thalia began.

"Shut up!" Nico shouted, flinging his left arm backwards in anger. He turned to face his cousin. "Just shut the hell up!"

A flicker of surprise was held in Thalia's face as well as guilt. She held up her hands in surrender, somehow complying to his order willingly, noting that her other cousin said nothing.

"It's unfair," Percy said with his voice cracking as he broke the silence.

"That's life," Thalia retorted.

"It's like the war repeated all over again," Percy concluded. "A different war. The demigods versus the infected." He stared at Thalia. "Who do you think will win?"

"You're too pessimistic Perce," Nico stated clearly.

"Am I?" The son of Poseidon asked, letting a bitter laugh escape his throat. "I'm to weak... I couldn't save Pollux-"

"That wasn't your fault," Thalia inputted sharply.

"And I couldn't even save my own mom." He finished, his head lowering down as if saying 'Rest in Peace.' "I should've been with her. But I wasn't, and now she's somewhere... somewhere..."

"Stop blaming yourself."

"Then who should I blame?"

"Connor Stoll."

The son of Poseidon mused on the thought. It didn't make him feel any better. If not- worse. "And then there's Connor Stoll."

Thalia looked livid. Electricity sparked around her, and her spiky black hair looked like a rats nest. "Just because your fatal flaw is loyalty doesn't mean every death or infected person is your fault!"

No reaction.

"I'm sorry Thalia- Nico, I just... I need to see her one more time," Percy said in a monotone, only letting a bit of emotion in his voice so that he wouldn't make the situation worse for himself. "Just once more."

And with those words being said, he ran.

**With Annabeth and her group: ****  
**  
Annabeth wasn't sure anymore. She stared at the others as they carried at least four boxes in their arms. And as for herself... She told herself she was resting, and technically she saw. Yawning, she nearly banged her head on the counter as she tried to stand up to help. She was tired of it all.

"You can rest for a bit Annabeth," Katie told her kindly, setting the boxes on the counter with a light thud. "We'll wake you up if something happens."

The daughter of Athena shook her head weakly, looking exhausted. Heavy bags were under her eyes and for a second, she looked like a zombie herself. "I can't do that to you. Just give me a few seconds and I'll be right there."

"Annabeth," Rachel told her. "You need some sleep. How are you going to lead if you can't lead?"

"I'm not going to give up," Annabeth stated firmly, and she finally gained a straight position when she stood. The expression on her face clearly said 'anyone?' "Where are the other boxes?"

Sighing, Katie pointed towards the storage area rather reluctantly. Annabeth thanked her with a nod and walked towards the direction in a stumbling manner as if she just had a hangover.

The daughter of Demeter and the Oracle watched her go in sadness. Rachel could only stare of the remains of what was left of Annabeth. She knew the daughter of Athena still blamed herself for leaving Percy- and the fact that he was alive would only help in certain aspects of it.

"She needs to rest," Katie told Rachel disapprovingly.

"You're not her mother," Rachel told her bluntly. She winced slightly, sending a guilty look towards her friend. "Sorry."

"It's okay..."

Awkward silence hung over them like a deadly disease.

"I'm sorry Grover, I couldn't see over the boxes, and you were technically in my way-" Annabeth began as she came into view, helping the satyr up.

He bleated as he took the hand, picking up the boxes with a label that said 'enchiladas' on them. Shaking his head, he bleated again. "Are you sure you want to move? We could stay here-"

"No," Annabeth interrupted. "The infected could smell us from far away. If we stayed here, they could ambush us. Wake up! This isn't just your regular stereotypical zombie story. The infected are smarter than that."

A loud crash came from behind them and they both turned around quickly. Tyson came lunging at them, panting for breath as he pointed backwards at the small hallway that led to the washroom.

"Five infected," Tyson managed to gasp out as he breathed out deeply. "We go!"

Rachel quivered, her pale face not matching her bright red frizzy hair. She immediately took at least five boxes and ran out of the diner, expecting the other to follow.

What she didn't expect, was for the infected to follow as well.

**With Will and Michael:****  
**  
"You call this shelter?!" Michael yelled as they came towards a different part of the forest. "Under a tree?!"

"If I recall, people do it all the time!" Will retorted with a frown, sitting down on the ground.

"Yeah, for a nap you mean."

"What do you expect? A five star hotel with Mr. D saying 'come on in kids, enjoy your stay?!'"

"That would be nice yeah."

A ghost of a grin made its way to Will's face. "Too bad then. Enjoy your stay!"

Michael rolled his eyes but followed his half-brother to rest under the tree, setting his jacket on the ground so he wouldn't get anymore dirtier than he already was. He let out a sigh as he stared at the dark grey sky.

"I was thinking Michael," Will started seriously. "What if we actually did go inside a hotel? A huge one like a maze o-or a labyrinth. We could go on different floors each night so the infected can't smell us. Maybe we can even find some survivors!"

"That idea can go kiss my quiver," Michael said as he snorted.

The son of Apollo looked offended. "It was a great idea!"

"Sounds like an idea the Stolls would do," he said without thinking.

The air seemed to get colder, and the mood visibly darkened. The two sons of Apollo both checked their surroundings for any signs of infected.

"Think Michael," Will said dryly, sighing. "Don't speak of their names- first or last."

He nodded solemnly, regretting his decision since it got colder. He turned towards his half-brother, flashing a really small grin. "So what hotel were you planning to stay at?"

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, but school has started with tons of homework and projects. Personally, this wasn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for all the support!******

**Ares'sBestLittleTaunter: They won't play a big role in the story, so don't worry. They'll only appear in a few chapters, so they're not going to be the main characters, just minor ones.**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 19

"And now you change your mind," Will said in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air. He grinned suddenly. "We'll probably find some hotel soon enough."

"Along with some infected," Michael muttered, starting to regret his decision.

"Yeah well, we'll find infected everywhere," Will responded, somehow managing to hear his brother's low tone. "We might as well take the chance."

"This is... Safer isn't it though?" Michael tried, gesturing towards the forest they were residing at. "Good camouflage."

"We'll find a jungle type hotel then."

"It's not that simple."

"I don't think it's that hard either."

Michael stared at his younger brother in disbelief and shook his head. He could suddenly feel his wound act up again and he tried not to wince- knowing that Will had been staring at his wound since he acquired it.

"Your bite wound," Will stated. "It's bleeding... Except it's not red or blood."

The older (yet shorter) demigod looked at his wound. "Must be some weird infected blood or poison then."

"You could die," Will hissed. His voice lowered. "I already lost my other half-siblings; I don't need to lose another one as well."

A bush rustled before he could reply. Instantly, both sons of Apollo had their bows out- though they were both backing up. Michael aimed his bow higher, and made sure that his arrow could cause explosions- knowing that a regular arrow couldn't kill the infected.

"Blgrh!" a strange noise emitted from its throat.

Michael shot his exploding arrow before running away, with his brother ducking for cover. He did the same, taking cover behind a tree that looked strong enough to hold an explosion.

"Blgrh..." a weaker-than-before voice sounded out. And then it growled.

**With the cousins: ****  
**  
They were too stunned to react. The cousins (now only two of them) stared at their (older) cousin in shock.

Five seconds past. Then-

"Percy come back!" Nico yelled out, running after him in a hurry.

"Kelp Head I swear to all the Olympians that if I catch you, I'll send you to Hades the hard way," Thalia threatened, jumping over a tree log easily.

The chase came to end for the son of Hades when Nico tried to shadow travel to his cousin but ended up hitting his face headfirst into a tree. He fell to the ground, holding his head with a loud groan.

The daughter of Zeus glanced behind her, and saw her cousin. He gestured with his hands for her to keep going and biting her lip, she continued, all the while ignoring the guilt.

"Percy, you're going to get killed out there!" Thalia tried, not even attempting to lower her voice.

He was too far, and even she knew it. She refused to give up- gaining speed on her 'kelp-headed target.'

"You're just going to abandon us?!" Thalia finally screamed. "Fine Jackson, I don't care, you can go to Hades, and I wouldn't even give-"

"NO!" a hoarse voice yelled. "Don't go to my father Percy, if you ever decide to come back, we'll be waiting here for you! Same place, same... rock as well!"

"Cheesy much di Angelo," Thalia managed to speak but she turned around so he couldn't see her face.

"What the Hades was that?!" Nico demanded, stumbling over to his remaining cousin.

"... That was me being... being the most stupid person... In the entire world," she finished lamely, looking down to the ground in shame.

"He'll come back," Nico said, glowering at his cousin. "He always does. And if he doesn't, then it's your fault."

The words weren't foreign to her ears. She sat down, slinging her arrows on the ground with a small thud. Fiddling with her bow as if it were a harp, she sighed.

"Percy..." She started, her voice cracking slightly. Since all was silent, her voice carried out across the forest. "If you can hear me... I'm sorry... I didn't mean what I said. I should've known you wanted to see your mom. You're a better person than me, I didn't even go to my mom's funeral..."

There was a heavy and awkward silence after her speech.

"... It's like Nico said. We'll be here. Unless, you know something comes, but we'll be here. Waiting." She finished, afterwards placing her head in her hands. The only thing that was visible was her messy hair.

"Cheesy much Grace," Nico responded, sitting down beside her.

Thalia didn't reply.

They didn't know that Percy was hiding behind a tree, guilt banging away in his heart.

"I'll be back," he whispered, already limping away in and out of the trees. "I swear on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed from above.

**With Annabeth and her group:**

"Run faster!" Grover bleated nervously, overtaking Rachel who was panting for breath.

"I'm... not... a... demigod..." Rachel breathed, stopping for a while before going on in a huff. She glanced backwards, her face paling even more as she saw the infected catching up quickly.

Annabeth started gaining more speed, no matter how tired she was. The cold wind started to gush and she felt her tousled hair fly in front of her face- covering part of her sight. She groaned slightly, trying her best to put her hair back. It was failing so far.

Katie tried her best to slow down the infected. She waved her hand and vines grew from the ground to tangle them. Even from far away, she could hear them growling as they ripped the vines apart. Her eyes widened, but she ran faster, growing more vines along the way.

"Meet in CP, plan one, GO!" Annabeth shouted, splitting from the united group and heading to the left.

Grover bleated nervously before trotting closer to Rachel and running together- headed towards Central Park in haste. Katie and Tyson did the same, but they all shared one last look before splitting up.

The five infected stopped chasing, their ears which strained to hear any sound could only hear the sound of one voice.

_'Let them go.'__  
_  
They growled menacingly.

_'For now.'__  
_  
The voice shrieked with cold laughter, as the infected approved, hunting for more people to eat.

Their hunger was never satisfied after all.

**With Clarisse:****  
**  
"You want some punk?!" Clarisse roared as she struck the spear into what was supposed to be the infected's heart. She pulled her spear back, seeing nothing but flesh on her weapon. A gruesome grin was on her face.

The only thing she got in reply was an attempted snort. She leaped and tackled it to the ground, stabbing her weapon on its forehead, before moving onto its upper body. Turning it around, she engraved the symbol of Kronos, before carving the initials of her name.

It gave one last incoherent speech before she closed her eyes, the light nearly blinding her. When she finally opened her eyes, nothing remained. The _cops sure won't appreciate the evidence, _she thought with a malicious grin before walking away from the 'crime scene,' without looking back once.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, and any OOCness in here. Thanks for all the support!**

**Shadow-God-Time-Hunt-Ice-Tide: I already updated that story, but it will be the next story that I'll be updating. Thanks!**

**Agent Artemis 004: I tend to forget things like that, so I hope this chapter is more realistic.**

**Blackcurse11: Thanks!**


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians****  
**  
Chapter 20

Acceptance of the fact that Chris had actually died- no, not just died. Saying that would be like saying the victims of a terrorist attack had just died, she thought with a frown. He had brutally been eaten alive. Thinking back on it, she knew she could've saved him. Her (ex-) boyfriend of a year... Had it even been a year?

"I can't even tell the year..." Clarisse grumbled, kicking the stones on the pavement.

Talking to yourself was the supposed way to tell if you were insane or not. That was what she used to think, she remembered. Picking on newbies talking to themselves. Hypocrite rang out in her mind like mines setting of. It felt like an official war was going on in her head.

A piercing yet scratching sound trailed its way across the metallic-like floor. She was walking through one of those 'abandoned' malls that people always like to go through. A low humorless laugh emitted from her throat, as her electrical spear pierced the ground, leaving a mark behind her. Not that she cared.

She gave up caring a long time ago- back when it had all started. Too many people- too much of her family, had died- turned into one of the infected or had been brutally eaten alive by eager infected organisms. Since then, she had kept her feelings locked away, and had completely forgotten where she had thrown the key.

Not once did she think that she might have stored it with Chris. But he was dead now. One of the many people that had been brutally eaten alive. Like Pollux. _Besides,_ she thought, _he's a coward._ Being stubborn was a family trait of the Ares descendants. So it wasn't normal when she ran back.

Back to the 'all you can eat' buffet with her (ex-) boyfriend. Back to where all the infected had been gathered. Back to where she had thrown away her key.

**With Thalia and Nico:****  
**  
"I just can't believe he left like that..." Thalia said, squirming uncomfortably on the rock she was sitting on.

"I can't believe a lot of things Thalia," Nico retorted, lying on the ground. "You don't see me complaining."

"You don't see me boasting about my humbleness," the daughter of Zeus replied in annoyance.

"You don't see me lying..."

Thalia flicked her cousin's shoulder in vexation. A deep sigh came from her throat as she stared at a space that her other cousin used to be. She didn't even know what to do anymore- just how to function like a normal demigod being should be.

"How do you think the others are?" Thalia asked suddenly, getting frustrated at the awkward 'content' silence.

"Uh..." was all the son of Hades could come up with. He scratched the back of his head as if he had just woken up to reality. "Don't ask me, I don't know..."

"I asked for your opinion Death Breath," Thalia reminded him. Besides, she wanted to add. Percy's gone.

He shrugged, closing his soulless black eyes that seemed pained. His posture clearly stated that he didn't want anymore interruptions or side comments.

That was the problem.

She wanted to talk. To move around to search for her cousin that had ran off to find an infected. His mother. Yet she knew it was being selfish of her. A part of her mind kept on stating one thing only. _'You think he's being selfish? I don't see you going to the Underworld to see your mother one last time...'_ Saying 'shut up' wouldn't help.

Minutes went by slowly- even though none of them had a watch to tell the time. Nico had his eyes closed, although Thalia could clearly see that he wasn't sleeping. None of them were. Then-

"I miss him," a voice that cracked a bit at the end spoke emotionally. Nico turned towards Thalia who wasn't meeting his eyes. "I miss him Thalia."

"We need to wait," Thalia replied. "We both know what it's like to lose a mom."

Nico couldn't help but flinch as he heard those words. Even Thalia who said it herself had cringed at her blunt words. If she could take them back, she would have. The wounds, so old, yet still imprinted in their memories like a sickness.

**With Percy: **

He wanted to turn back. He really did. Contemplating the old idea in his head, he turned his head to stare at the unwelcoming sight of the narrow path of darkness.

_Turn back, turn back, turn back..._ Was all he thought of. His stomach lurched at the thought of even becoming an infected or being demigod chow for the living dead. _Go back to Thalia and Nico._

_'They both know what it's like to lose a mother Perseus,'_ a voice soothed the demigod slyly. _'They'll understand. Don't turn back. Your mother is more important isn't she...?'_

_But she's not a-... alive anymore,_ Percy thought, ignoring how he could hear the voice in his head. _I should go back._  
_  
'__Second thoughts are banned from this world!'_ The soothing voice hissed angrily as if she were the ruler of the earth._ 'She will come to you!'__  
_  
Percy nearly jumped back in shock. His 'branch from a tree' support failed him as it snapped onto the ground in failure. A low (familiar) growl could be heard as he tried to crawl back as much as he could. Eyes widened in shock, and a weird choking noise emitted from his throat.

Sally Jackson was standing right in front of her son in menace. A cruel smile flitted across her face for a moment before it disappeared, determination set in her complete red eyes.

Thunder rumbled and heavy rain poured on them for dramatics. His own salty tears ran down along with the rain without any control.

_'__You wanted to see her didn't you?'_ The voice in the air spoke again. She cackled madly, her insane laugh carrying on into thin air. _'Well I suppose she's also the last thing you'll see. Make your final stand Perseus.'__  
_  
**With Will and Michael:**

"We need to make it stick to a tree or something," Michael explained in a hushed voice.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Will asked, looking at the infected in shock as it just grew stronger. "How could we have been so stupid?"

"What?" Michael looked at his half-brother sharply.

"Fire makes them stronger," Will stated, burying his head in his hands. "We need to run. Or else..."

The older son of Apollo shook his head, realization dawning on him quickly. "It'll outrun us easily."

"We're hiding right now," Will argued like lawyer. "If we're stealthy enough..."

"If."

"Better than nothing!"

Michael made a 'shh' noise, clamping his hand over his half-brother's mouth as the infected came closer to them, snarling as it leaped randomly. He held up three fingers.

Three.

They stared at each other. Both blue eyes staring at each other in fear as the countdown went on.

Two.

Two more fingers to go, Will thought in despair, staring at the infected while biting his lip.

One.

Michael blinked a few times, before trying to think positively. _I just 'died.' I won't let myself die... At least without protecting Will first._ He stared above the clouds, where 'Olympus' was supposed to be. _Please dad._Zero.

No fingers were held up anymore. Taking deep breaths, the sons of Apollo ran as fast as they could out of the bushes, trying to sprint faster than a cheetah.

Only one hopeful thought came to mind: 'we're immune.' But as Will stared up in the dark sky, his stomach lurched before the optimistic thought vanished.

**With Annabeth: ****  
**  
She could no longer hear the pounding footsteps of the infected. Her breathing slowed down once she stopped. Gasping for air, she looked around in case there were still more.

'Everything's going to be okay Wise Girl,' a voice spoke to her.

Annabeth brought out her knife, swinging it around wildly, looking for the voice suspiciously.

"W-Who's there?" She couldn't help but stammer, cursing herself for her insecurity.

'Its me Annabeth,' the voice spoke again.

The daughter of Athena stared at the solid figure in front of her. Percy was staring at her, grinning crookedly. She felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders, but she still stared at her boyfriend curiously.

She reached out to touch Percy's hand but once she did, he vanished in thin air.

"Percy?" Annabeth whispered, glancing around with tears. "Percy?!"

Cold laughter spread around the frosty air. She screamed in frustration, falling to her knees. He had been a hallucination.

**With Grover and Rachel:****  
**  
"They're not chasing us anymore," Rachel told the alarmed satyr in a composed voice as she nearly fell over from exhaustion. "We're safe from them now."

Grover stopped trotting on his hooves and he finally stopped, slouching near the back of an alleyway. He gasped for breath as if he had an asthma attack.

"We'll have to go soon," Rachel predicted, her eyes a little glazed over. "One of them is already sensing our smell..."

"Why couldn't you tell us this earlier?" Grover asked in slight annoyance. "Instead, Tyson alerted us. You're the-"

"My vision is complicated," Rachel retorted back in anger. "Do you think I wanted this? Fifteen minutes until we should reach Central Park. Let's just go."

She left without even alerting Grover, who only bleated in response. Eventually, they ended up running together again. The Oracle paused for a moment, catching her breath by supporting herself on a wall.

"Too... Tired..." Rachel tried to say.

"We're almost there!" Grover argued.

"You don't... Understand," Rachel retorted, looking at the satyr in the eye. "I was meant to do this."

"Do what?"

"To die. Right here, right now. It's the only chance I've got at becoming dead instead of being one of the infected. I'm sorry Grover."

**With Katie and Tyson:****  
**  
"We need to go back!" Katie cried out once she saw the heavy army of infected in front of her. "There's too many..." Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "We're going to die."

"We not dying," Tyson said in confidence.

With one grab of his hand, he hauled Katie over his back before charging at the barrack of infected, roaring a battle cry. She got the plan right away.

"PEANUT BUTTER!" Tyson shouted.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update and any OOCness. There may be a few character deaths in the upcoming chapters so be warned. Thanks for all the support!**

**Keeta-x-Tribias: It's not really insanity, but confusion/conflict.**

**Blackcurse11: Thanks****!**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

**A/N: Anything in italics is either thoughts or flashbacks or voices.  
**  
Chapter 21

They charged through the hordes of infected. Katie waved her hand while monster eating plants appeared from the ground. She sagged lower on Tyson's back, exhaustion claiming her as one of their own.

"FOR PERCY!" Tyson kept on shouting, storming though the heavy crowd of the living dead people.

The Infected were flung across the side of the street like rag dolls. Tyson was in too much of his 'peanut butter charging head-on rage' to even care that the Infected were getting more and more aggressive towards the pair.

Katie's vision was getting rather blurry as Tyson raced towards Central Park. They were making twists and turns that she assumed were right. Not that she could actually identify left from right. All she saw were the faces of Infected staring at her hungrily... For her flesh...

A grimace featured on her face. Her eyes narrowed to a particular person she saw in the crowd, and she let out a small gasp. And it wasn't because Tyson had stumbled either.

It had to be the worst luck in the world. That she, an ordinary daughter of Demeter would have the honors of seeing the Infected version of Connor Stoll again. But this time he had his older brother with him.

"Tyson?" Katie asked, her voice trembling with fright of dying or something worse. "Do you think you could...? Hurry up?"

The Cyclopes didn't seem to identify the problem until the two brothers actually strolled over like normal civilized human beings that didn't go off ripping and eating people's flesh.

**With Percy: **

He couldn't think properly anymore. But then again, what was the true meaning of proper? All he could think of was his mother and the creepy voice whose identity was still unknown to him.

_Go on Perseus, _the voice shrieked with laughter as Sally came closer. _Come say hi!_

"S-Stay back!" Percy stammered, finally taking out Riptide and swinging it into an arc in front of him.

His mother just snarled in annoyance, stalking forwards. He couldn't just run since one of his legs had been amputated gruesomely. But he couldn't just stay either.

_This is it,_ Percy thought hopelessly. _I'm going to die, right here, right now._

_No? You're not even going to try?_ The voice taunted in amusement. _I'll give you a hint...__  
_  
"Mom..." the word slipped out of his mouth unintentionally.

The 'Infected momma' grinned as if she could understand him. Her pace quickened yet it still felt like a slow motion moment to him.

_Oh look you've encouraged her,_ the voice spoke again. The tone seemed cheerful, and then turned cruel. _Do you want my help or not?__  
_  
"What you're saying is: do you want to know how to kill your mother or not?" Percy mimicked, his shoulders sagging as he leaned on one of the trees.

The voice made a hissing sound as if angry. _She's not your mother anymore boy!_

It reminded him of Artemis, except crueler. As much as a male hater goddess she was, he knew it wasn't like her to do this. He wondered where she was now, the goddess of the moon. In a way, he despised her for leaving the hunters, leaving his cousin behind in the world. But then again, the other Olympians had also disappeared.

_She's an Infected now Perseus, _the voice once again spoke in a low tone. _You'd better be off killing her. I'll show you how to kill all the Infected. Then you can kill your friends and family who have turned!__  
_  
It sounded too cheerful to his liking; not that he liked the voice at all.

_The time you waste on your pointless thinking is the time when your mother approaches closer and closer till she finally...__  
_  
He tried backing up slowly, hobbling on a new walking stick he had just acquired from the ground below. Was it possible to escape from his mother?

_LISTEN!_ The voice thundered. It calmed down on the next few sentences. _Choose now. Do you wish to...? Improve the world by being one of the few who know its secret to kill an Infected? Or do you wish to stupidly die by the hands of your mother who is already dead?__  
_  
_She's right,_ he realized in reluctance. "I can't..." he whispered in a hoarse voice.

_So you would rather die? Think about all your other... Family and friends... Annabeth... MAKE YOUR MIND!_

A cold fist enclosed around his heart as he stared at his former parent. He nodded his head, drawing out his pen, and uncapped it. A sword was pointing at the Infected's head as it came closer and closer.  
_  
__A scythe. Draw a scythe on its back._

It leaped in front of him like a wild animal after the information processed in his mind. Somehow in the spur of the moment, he hopped around, managing to turn backwards and face the back of his mother's old shirt. He quickly doodled a scythe, watching as the skin shriveled away.

_Was she really that old?_ He closed his eyes, as the blinding light shone forth almost brighter than Apollo's sun chariot. Once he opened his eyes, the only thing he saw was... Nothing. Just the scenery he saw without the Infected in it.

He fell on his knees letting out an earsplitting scream, his head pounding. It was only a few seconds later when he blacked out.

It was too much for him.  
**  
****With Annabeth: ****  
**  
_Hallucination,_ she reminded herself as she basically dragged herself to the meeting point. Her quiet footsteps pounded on the pavement. All was quiet.

_Too quiet.__  
_  
Which meant that the coast would be clear if she sprinted. But she didn't. As she got out of the alleyway, checking left and right to see if any Infected were there, she walked. And not just any sort of 'demigod fast walk' either.

It was one of the stereotypical old granny ones. She wondered if she was losing her touch with the real world.

"I'm sorry Percy," she whispered.

The three words carried on with the wind, the sound echoing miraculously. Her footsteps continued making their small stomps. She remembered Camp Half-Blood.

_Fire. It was everywhere. Shrieking and cackles of mad laughter rang out on the camp grounds. Screaming was heard the loudest._

_"Run!" a voice could be heard shouting. Chiron. "Bring the young ones to safety! Go!"_Her eyes opened. All was quiet again.

**With Grover and Rachel: ****  
**  
Grover bleated, shaking his head. "You have to Rachel, come on."

"I'm just going to slow you down Grover, just go!" Rachel demanded, her temper getting the best of her. Her emerald eyes looked pleading. "Just go. Please."

The satyr shuffled nervously. He was obviously in conflict of failing his duties again. However, he was still glancing back and forth. Hesitating.

She seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled sadly. "Tell everyone they were like my family will you?"

The words seemed to tumble out of his mouth. "Sure."

"Thanks. Now go, you'll make it to the meeting point."

The only thought that was running around his head was, _she knew all along I would be going. _He would've stayed around longer but he could already sense the Infected coming.

"I-I'm sorry Rachel!" Grover bleated, trotting away at full speed. He waved at her as if she wasn't going to die anytime soon.

"See you later!"

**With Clarisse:****  
**  
"PUNKS!" She immediately roared once she saw the Infected. "YOU PUNK-"

An Infected threw itself at her, and they wrestled aggressively. Clarisse kicked it away, grabbing her electrical spear and stabbing it repeatedly. For her, just seeing of holes forming in its body was good enough for her.

"YOU WILL PAY!" Clarisse raged on as if she were the war goddess herself.

The Infected never stood a chance against the angry demigod. She pushed her way through the crowd with her face set in an expression of determination and fierceness.

She wanted to see him one last time. Even if he was already eaten.

"Where is he?!" She demanded, banging her spear on the ground as if she were Zeus. She seemed to be a lot of people.

She was close to letting the loudest roar out into the world but self-control managed to sliver in before her mouth could open. Rampaging on, she finally came to a small huddle of Infected, all of them staring at something on the ground.

"What're you punks looking at?!" Clarisse roared. For a second, she forgot that they were Infected and barged in the huddle.

_Clarisse, Clarisse, Clarisse... _A chill in the air whirled around them as the voice tsked. _Curiosity killed the cat._"Yeah well I'm not no damn cat," Clarisse jeered.

She survived.

**With Thalia and Nico:**"Shhhhh, shut up di Angelo," Thalia growled quietly.

"Yessir," Nico mumbled under his breath. His eyes widened as the former huntress' eyes narrowed at him. "Ma'am! I meant ma'am! I mean, sure you can act like a sir but..."

He said too much. She just rolled her electrifying blue eyes, and raised a finger to her lips that gestured for a 'shhh.' The son of Hades nodded uninterestingly. He had already known that, but yet kept on drumming his fingers on the wooden log.

If she saw, she didn't comment. _Probably because she has ADHD too,_ Nico realized with a small grin.

A scream made them both jump. Nico let out a string of curse words, one after another. Thalia lost track of what language it was.

"Percy..." Nico realized. He looked at Thalia for confirmation.

"Yeah come on let's go," Thalia responded casually, but the worry in her tone made him know that she wasn't that uncaring.

"Right-"

She had already sprinted away to the direction of where the scream was coming from. He followed quickly with shadow travel.

Before he arrived, he already heard Thalia saying something.

"Tell me something Kelp Head," Thalia started in aggravation. "How the Hades do you manage to get in these situations?!"

He didn't reply.  
**  
****A/N: My updating is getting really bad, so I'm really sorry about that. Also, Percy is not dead. Thanks for all the support!**

**(I have a poll on my profile for which story I should put on hiatus. All of my other multi-chaptered stories have already been updated so this is the last time you'll get to vote.)**


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 22

They would watch him, his eyes opening and closing like he didn't know what was a dream or reality. Occasionally, he would mutter a few words that didn't sound like words, more like a bunch of incoherent string of syllables smashed together.

It was once, only once where he muttered something which caught their attention. His eyes had been wide open, the sea green showing clearly for the first time since he had been unconscious.

"I-I k-kill-killed my... my mom..." he mumbled, his hands shaking slightly on the ground.

Thalia wished she couldn't see the sea green eyes anymore. They were so full of guilt, so full of wet tears that had spilled at that moment. Now they were closed, and her heart clenched at the pitiful sight of the Hero of Olympus.

"I'm sure he killed her for a good reason," Nico reassured, mostly for himself though, since his face was incredibly paler than usual. "She was already dead, turned in an Infected so that means..."

They stared at each other, the soulless black eyes versus the electrical blue ones that were fierce. Realization dawned on them suddenly.

"He knows how to kill them," Thalia spoke casually, although there was an urgent light in her eyes. "How does he know how to kill them?"

He continued drumming his fingers on his lap, as if he knew the answer and was thinking deeply. His eyes lighted up, before becoming obscure. The former huntress stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"I think," he said hollowly. "I think I know how he knows..."

"Go on," Thalia pressured, impatient.

"Do you remember a voice speaking to you that no one else could hear?" Nico continued.

"I'm sure you have, being the son of death and all."

Nico glared at her as she made the joke, before continuing. "Seeing as you haven't, I think it was the voice who told Percy how to kill an Infected. And I think the voice was the cause of everything else too."

"How can a voice be the cause of all this? One second, you're telling me 'it was the gods, it was the gods' and now you're telling me 'it was the voice, it was the voice?' Make up your mind damn mind Nico."

_Oh I would love to blame the gods, the epitome of all types of destruction in the world. They caused earthquakes, thunderstorms, tsunamis, because they get angry. And then when I released this... This beauty upon earth, my domain, they... they get furious.__  
__**  
**_**With Clarisse: ****  
**  
The sight disgusted her more than the time in that 'abandoned' warehouse with all those dead people. She turned around suddenly, her blood matted hair whipping her face. The sight was engraved in her memory.

"What if the gods did this?"

She snarled abruptly, clenching her fists. Just because they think they're at the top of the hierarchy... It was sickening. Just the one-second-look of him... _What was their status? Oh well, that'll remain unknown till this all ends and I meet him in the Underworld,_ she thought bitterly,

It was only then when she realized the Infected, every single damn one of them were staring at her. Their whole frame was in various stages of decay- bulbous rashes and upturned lips, curled into a sneer.

The entire time, they had been waiting for her to make a move and realize... Realize how fatal the entire stupid situation was.

"Bullshit," Clarisse muttered, clenching her fists tightly. "Absolute bullshit."

She felt hollow inside, an empty feeling inside of her as she calculated what difference she would make in the entire damned world if she killed five of them. _What this world needs is an atom bomb destroying earth,_ she thought pessimistically, looking downcast.

_Your time has come daughter of Ares.__  
_  
**With Rachel: ****  
**  
Facing terms with her death had been easy. Just a few simple, happy thoughts of, 'I'm going to die, nothing to worry about anymore.' That statement only applied a few months ago. Instead of dying 'heroically,' she got bitten.

She screamed, holding her shoulder with her free hand, while spitting curses at the wild beast that was grinning maliciously. It ran away like a coward, not staying to see what would happen. Its recruitment job was finished.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, you prick; you sunk your unbrushed teeth and pricked me! Who do you think you are, some Maleficent lookalike?!"

It didn't reply. She closed her eyes. Nothing was peaceful. The pain was excruciating. Four truthful statements that were constantly happening everyday. A minute passed. Nothing happened. She kept on screaming. Tears were slowly pouring out.

Apollo's face flashed in her mind. He mouthed one word: immune. She didn't reply. His face faded away. The thought of changing faded away slightly. The pain kept on going.

She had seen it in the movies all the time: the protagonist pretends to be dead so others won't notice him/her. As far as she could tell, it worked most of the time. Yet, the Infected could tell what was what...

Before she could make her mind, she blacked out unintentionally, subconsciously hoping her plan would work.

**With Grover:**

The satyr tried to decipher her strange words, that sounded too cheerful for a person who was about to meet death. He was pretty sure 'see you later' sounded like she would survive. A thought struck his mind, while he trotted to the meeting spot.

What if she lied and led him to a trap? What if she started it all? What if she was the bad one, since she's the Oracle, she's supposed to know the future...

The thought raveled into something deeper. A fruition of sorts. He stopped, leaning on one of the abandoned buildings to rest. _Man, I have the worst luck with redheads. First Nancy, and now this...__  
_  
For a second he could imagine...

_Nancy, placing her hand on his shoulder as he knelt; speaking words with her glowing eyes. "Hereby, I curse you to be cursed by any redhead you meet."__  
_  
He snapped out of his extremely weird thoughts, glancing behind him to see if any flesh-hungry non citizens were chasing him. Nothing yet.

He ran on.  
**  
****With Tyson and Katie:**

Katie shrieked as they came closer, gripping Tyson around the neck more tightly. _Mom, if you can help me, please do,_ she pleaded. She didn't care if she was showing cowardice. The war she had been in was nothing compared to the epidemic that had occurred... She lost track of time.

"We be fine," Tyson reassured, though even he had trouble keeping a positive attitude.  
_  
__You know how to kill an Infected don't you? Use that information wisely daughter of Demeter._

She knew she could summon roses and make the thorns move to scratch the symbol of Kronos on their back.

"Tyson could you try... Running full speed until we lose them?" Katie asked uncertainly, still appalled.

The two brothers weren't moving. They seemed to be frozen, except their facial appearance and occasional stretches. What was happening?

"Me... Run... Tired..." Tyson replied slowly, even though he was still bashing and flinging the Infected across.

Now she was getting apprehensive. _Were they saving their energy for beating and eating me? _She thought, choking noises emitting from her throat inadvertently. _Gods...__  
_  
_I'm guessing you're not going to give up... That's too bad. CHARGE!__  
_  
And finally, the two Infected kings charged, exactly as the command had demanded.

"Tyson, hurry!" Katie screamed, breathing heavily, as she summoned a wall between them and the others.

_A wall of those stupid plants won't save you now girlie._

The voice was right, seeing as a few seconds later, the wall got destroyed by hordes and hordes of Infected, all scavenging around for human flesh.  
**  
****With Will and Michael: ****  
**  
It caught up quicker than they thought it would. _So fire does make them stronger,_ Will mused.

"You know what sucks?" Michael asked his half-brother as they sprinted. He didn't wait for a reply. "The fact that children of Apollo's main domain are the sun, which basically equals fire."

His only reply was heavy breathing and short gasps of air.

"And you know what also sucks? The fact that we're running for nothing."

He collapsed to his knees, the cramp in his side thudding like a heartbeat. "You... You knew..."

"Well I only realized when I glanced back which was a minute ago..."

Will let out an exasperated sigh, still panting, and his voice hoarse as he spoke. "You ferrety bastard."

Michael let out a snicker, which added well to the entire 'ferret persona.' "I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"What happened to the others? Um... Like Austin? Kayla? The girl with the rainbow colored hair..."

He froze, the question being a memento to his mind. "I-I don't know..."

The older son of Apollo looked up sharply. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"When the epidemic started, we all got separated."

"But they were in the same cabin as you, how did you get separated?" Michael asked incredulously.

"I know. It's just that we all got separated..."

"Quit lying. You went with another group because you thought you had a better chance of surviving with the others than with your own family," Michael snarled, clenching his fists tightly. He stared at his half-brother in the eyes, which were nearly identical to his. "I know you better than anyone Will, so don't even try to lie to me."  
**  
****With Annabeth:**

Annabeth didn't know how much longer she could survive. So far, there were about two Infected attempted attacks that she luckily had hidden from. Unluckily, she had gone completely off track, ruining her chances of getting to her destination early.

A broken signboard with scraps of wood and paint peeling off unexpectedly fell down from the impact of the windy weather. Wind blasted in her face, yet she still felt like she was about to burn to her death in a few seconds. The feeling of the heat didn't amuse her at all.

She could hear a faint muffled 'NO' from above the clouds, where sounds were original. Looking up, her child of Athena senses kicked in and it dawned on her that above the clouds was Olympus, where the gods resided. The same gods that abandoned them.

She couldn't bring herself to care anymore. She had been abandoned before. Along with that statement, she had abandoned someone before as well. Karma or fate?

The Fates... She cursed them for one of the first time in her life. But perhaps it was her insanity causing her to speak.

**A/N: 'Don't Mess with the Cabins' has been put on hiatus, so the effects of updating faster has worked I guess. Thanks for all the support!**


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